Kinda Dead
by Psiah
Summary: Vexatious witches and dastardly demons, soul-sucking vampires, criminal heathens. Fantastic Fae secrets and shapeshifters, too, incorrigible others whose avarice grew. It would certainly make for an exciting life. There was just one small problem: Ruby Rose wasn't alive anymore.
1. Part One: The Witch

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**Part One:  
****The Witch**

* * *

For the first time in months, Yang Xiao Long finally felt like she could go outside alone.

The untimely death of her sister had hit her hard.

And Ruby hadn't been just a sister to her; after their mother's death, Yang had stepped up to raise her younger sibling. Their father had been in no state to do it, after all.

But when Ruby died… he'd once again had the indecency to take it even harder than Yang.

With both of them out of commission, Uncle Qrow had been forced to step in. He'd withdrawn her from her classes, so she wouldn't fail them. He'd gotten them both extended leaves of absence from their jobs. He'd arranged for therapy for them both.

But Yang found herself unable to appreciate this, as he hadn't entirely ceased his drunken antics.

Yang found them endearing once.

Then, her sister was killed by a drunk driver.

Yeah, Yang had said some awful things to her uncle over the last few months.

And she still wasn't able to take them back…

Even if he'd started to sober up.

But… she couldn't dwell on it forever.

As her therapist had helpfully reminded her: Ruby wouldn't want her to dwell on it forever.

Today, it'd be a walk around the block.

Tomorrow, she'd try grocery shopping.

Next week? A half-shift at work.

And maybe, just maybe, she could do it.

She would banish from her mind the images of that car bouncing up on the curb. Of Ruby shoving her out of the way, so it wouldn't hit both of them.

There were a few times she'd wished it had.

It would have saved her seeing Ruby's broken, mangled, lifeless body. Of trying CPR even though her sister had long since stopped breathing. Stopped her from screaming into the night as the ambulance pulled away in no particular hurry. In the back, there hadn't been a gurney; there'd been a body bag.

She wouldn't have had to have watched them lower that casket into the ground, and with it, her heart.

But Ruby never would have forgiven her for cheapening her sacrifice, so Yang _had_ to move on.

She had to live her life.

Even though Ruby couldn't live hers.

And it really wasn't fair; Ruby had _just started_ living the life she'd always wanted. She'd finally gotten the opportunity to just be herself! She'd finally started smiling in a way she hadn't since Mom…

...Since Summer…

Yang stopped to pull out a tissue, wipe her eyes, and blow her nose. She was making _progress_. Now wasn't the time for that.

She just wished… if only she could see Ruby one last time. Have a chance to say goodbye or something. To thank her.

It was at that moment she noticed a person walking purposefully on the other side of the street. Ruby's height, that same hair color: so dark red that it looked black in anything but the brightest of lights…

It wasn't Ruby, of course, it couldn't be. The hair was just a bit too long, and while the dark red suit was certainly Ruby's color, it wasn't a style that Ruby would be caught dead in. And Ruby… she was…

Yang had _seen_ the body…

She should have ignored it.

But…

She _had_ to know.

If she didn't know for sure… she'd _always_ wonder.

She knew it was just the grief talking. She knew her therapist would have some choice words about the event, but if she didn't know for sure… she'd never be able to move on.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted.

The person across the street didn't react.

Maybe that was enough?

Her feet decided otherwise.

She was already sprinting across the street. A horn blared as a car slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid her. Yang didn't even notice… but the Ruby-like person did.

A flash of eyes too bright to be Ruby's shot towards her before the person pointedly began walking down an alley.

This too should have been enough. Ruby's eyes were a dull grey. They didn't shine, bright like the moon.

And yet, Yang gave chase.

"Ruby!" She shouted again.

The person continued to ignore her.

Suddenly, something slammed into her side. Yang was on the ground, alone in an alley, save for the person who was ignoring her.

And the beast that was pinning her down.

It was a creature made of shadows, with a face made of blood-streaked bone. It looked like some sort of evil, bipedal wolf.

Yang raised her right arm up to keep those wicked sharp teeth away from her throat. She watched the jaws begin to close over the limb, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep it.

Well, it didn't much matter. What was a lost arm to a dead girl?

Instead of the searing pain of having her arm torn to shreds, she felt a lightness as the creature yipped and was flung off of her. She rolled over to watch the person from earlier - now wearing a red cloak and carrying a large polearm - kick over the creature and stab it in _its_ neck, and suddenly it was gone, disintegrating into the shadows from whence it came.

And then, those too bright eyes were upon her.

"Gods, Yang! I didn't save you just so you could get yourself killed chasing after ghosts!"

And the pieces fell together. It _was_ Ruby. Her eyes shone like polished silver now, but it was her sister!

"It's really you." Yang said as familiar tears met an unfamiliar smile. "Ruby, you're… alive!"

Ruby clapped a hand over her mouth, then turned to flee. Rose petals scattered behind her as she took off an inhuman speed.

Yang was on her feet and following the trail at a speed she didn't realize she was capable of before Ruby disappeared from sight.

"Damnit, Ruby!" Yang shouted, mostly to herself. "You _know_ I'm going to do stupid shit until I get to the bottom of this!"

Ruby was definitely too far away to hear it. Still, Yang followed the trail until the petals started crumbling into dust faster than she could follow.

The trail was gone. She doubled over, winded, but wearing the widest smile she'd had in months.

_Ruby was alive._

And suddenly, Yang was too.

She heard a loud sigh from in front of her, drawing her attention.

"You will, won't you?" Ruby groaned in frustration.

"You came back!" Yang squealed, pushing with the last of her energy to throw herself onto Ruby in a massive embrace.

Her sister didn't budge. Normally, this sort of thing would have knocked Ruby over. Now? It was like hugging a statue of her. A soft, warm statue, but a statue nonetheless. A statue that was softly patting her back, but there was this _feeling_ that the younger girl could snap her like a twig.

"In a manner of speaking." Ruby sighed. "You're making this a lot harder, I hope you know that."

Yang put her hands on Ruby's shoulders and pushed back a bit to get a good look at her. There were tears in those bright, silver eyes, completing a look that implied she'd just lost something, not found it again. There was a twitch under the top of the cloak, and Yang noticed two unusual bumps underneath.

Ruby reached up to wipe her eyes on her fancy suit sleeve, and the cloak shimmered as it faded away into an explosion of Rose petals.

And taking with it whatever the bumps were under her hood.

"Soooo… magic?" Yang asked as she swiveled herself around her sister to get a better look at the fading petals. "Wait… you said _gods_ earlier." She emphasized the plural. "Like more than one. Oh my god, Ruby? Did the afterlife bring you back to life to be a superhero?"

"Uggh, Yang!" Ruby groaned. "I'm not supposed to be talking about this with living mortals! Stop guessing so well!"

"_Living?_"

Ruby sighed, and softly headbutted Yang's chest.

"It's… probably better if I just… show you."

Ruby softly grabbed Yang's hand from her shoulder, and guided it to her neck. She pressed two of Yang's fingers into her pulse point.

But no pulse came.

Yang felt her vision narrow, and her legs buckled as she fell onto her sister. This time, it seemed like Ruby had to struggle to hold her up.

Yang took a deep breath. It didn't matter if Ruby was "dead" or "alive". Those labels were meaningless. Either way Ruby was here. And as she convinced herself of that, she was able to fight off the oncoming fainting spell.

"This is why I wasn't supposed to tell you." Ruby whispered, heavy with pain.

"Well, I found out anyway." Yang whispered back, countering with determination, and beginning to carry some of her own weight again. "You don't have to go through this alone."

Ruby shuddered underneath her, and began softly sobbing.

"It's been so hard, Yang. I-I made them promise to let me w-watch over you guys… but seeing you hurting and not being able to… to say anything… gods… I'm in so much t-trouble… but right now I d-don't even care!"

"Hey, Ruby, it's okay." Yang said softly as she guided Ruby over to the side of the alley, and sat down beside her. "I'm just glad I get to see you again."

Yang hugged Ruby against her side, and began softly stroking her hair.

They sat like that for a long time. A calm eternity that Yang never wanted to end. But eventually, Ruby stopped crying.

"You have to keep this a secret, Yang." Ruby sighed. "From dad, and… Uncle Qrow too. You can't tell anyone. 'Ruby Xiao Long' is still dead. She has to _stay_ dead. I can't go back to that life."

Yang nodded. She was worried that something like this would happen.

"Okay. I'll… make up some other reason why I'm… happier. But my therapist she's… crafty. She'll probably notice something's up."

"You still have to promise me you won't tell her, no matter what." Ruby said, holding out her pinky finger.

Yang linked it with her own.

"Promise."

There were a few more moments of silence.

"So… if you're not supposed to be 'Ruby', then who are you supposed to be now?" Yang asked.

"No… I'm still Ruby… just… now I go by 'Ruby Rose'."

"Mom's maiden name?"

"Yeah. They let me pick it."

"Well, it suits you."

They stayed cuddled together with their thoughts for a few moments longer.

"Speaking of suits… I thought you said you'd never wear one again?"

"Well," Ruby swallowed. "They didn't give me a choice in attire. I mean, beyond color."

"Can't you just change into something more comfortable?"

"Only when I'm off duty."

"Oh, so it's a uniform? Well, it looks good on you. And no one's going to mistake you for…" Yang trailed off.

"Yeah, well, they did give me skin I'd be more comfortable in." Ruby leaned more into Yang. "Big plus side on that? No more needles."

"Well, good! They owed you at least that much, right? After everything they put you through?"

"I don't know that I'd say they 'owed' me, but… I am grateful."

"Someday you'll learn that you deserve the good things that happen to you, Rubes." Yang leaned over to softly kiss the top of Ruby's head.

They sat in comfortable silence a while longer.

"I probably need to get going." Ruby sighed. "I have a job to do; they brought me back for a reason."

"Will I be able to talk to you again?" Yang asked, holding onto Ruby more tightly.

"Well… I guess I've already broken the rules… Hand me your phone?"

Yang complied, and Ruby began adding a contact.

"Agent Rose?"

"Can't have dad or someone see that you're still messaging me." Ruby said as she handed the phone back. "Best if they don't get too suspicious."

"Right."

Ruby stood and dusted herself off.

"Yang? Could you tell dad that… that I love him? And that I'm sorry… wait, not the second part, it wouldn't make sense coming from you if I was really gone."

"Yeah, Ruby. I can do that." Yang sighed, suddenly cold. "See you around?"

"Yeah, Yang." Ruby smiled wide. "See you around."

And in a flash of rose petals, she was gone again, cloak billowing behind her once more.

As the petals faded to dust, Yang tapped out a message to "Agent Rose".

_Yang: This is real, right? It really happened? I'm not hallucinating?_

She didn't get the reply until she was walking up the steps to the apartment.

_Agent Rose: Yes, Yang, it is. :)_


	2. The Witch: Chapter 2

0+-+-+-+0

Ruby Xiao Long tried to open her eyes.

Which, of course, brought her to the startling realization that she no longer had any.

So, she tried other senses.

Hearing? No ears.

Touch? No hands… or any limbs to speak of.

Smell? No nose.

Taste? No tongue.

Proprioception? Now there was an interesting one. She'd always heard that people who lost limbs could still feel them there… like they were supposed to be there, but this? Well, it was like she had no body, and she wasn't _supposed_ to have one either.

Man, something must have really messed her up. If only she could remember…

And there it was. A memory of Yang falling to safety as her own hips shattered under the impact of the vehicle's front bumper. Time slowing down as the force caused her to ragdoll face first into the hood of the car. Acceptance that she would not survive, but at least her sister would. Everything going dark as her cheek and the car bent each other in turn.

Yeah, that could probably have put her in a coma. Which was the only reasonable explanation she had at the moment.

After all, she'd long since accepted that death was final. There was no afterlife for her, just like there hadn't been one for her mother. Life had to be what you made of it, right? And she'd fucked so many things up… keeping Yang alive, at least, meant she'd done _something_ of value with her life.

"**Ruby Yin Xiao Long.**" A voice boomed. But she didn't really _hear_ it. Or feel it. Or see it. It was a new sense. One she'd not previously thought to open her mind to.

And while this sense wasn't quite like any she'd had before, she found that it could more or less replace all those senses.

And now that she was aware… she realized that she was little more than a floating point of red light, hovering in front of a giant of a red haired woman, fitted in armor that looked vaguely Greek, and seated at an impressive desk that Ruby knew that if she could lick it, it would taste like mahogany.

She tried to remember where she'd learned what mahogany tasted like.

"Wow. They must have me on the _good_ drugs." Ruby pulsed out into the medium of this new sense. Oh hey. She could sorta talk. _Neat._

The red-headed woman scrunched her face up in confusion.

"**You… aren't on any drugs, Miss Xiao Long. You are dead. And an awfully fast learner, apparently.**" The woman's mouth moved along with the words, but they echoed from every corner of her being. And maybe a little bit beyond.

"Wouldn't be able to have a conversation if I were dead." Ruby pulsed. "This must just be a really weird coma dream. They got me trippin' _balls_ here."

The woman regarded the speck that was Ruby with a flat look.

"**This is the **_**afterlife**_**, Miss Xiao Long. If you were 'tripping balls' as they say, at least to such an extent as to hallucinate **_**this**_**, you wouldn't be self-aware enough to realize it.**"

"Well, that's a good point." Ruby pondered. "Except I really don't believe in any of that."

"**Faith is not a requirement. All are judged here before moving along.**"

"Yeah, okay, but… if I was in a coma dream, I'd be able to imagine all of this anyway. Maybe I just have an overactive imagination. After all, we are just our brains, and anything the brain is able to sense it is also able to fabricate, given the appropriate circumstances. So this could definitely all be a dream."

"**You are experiencing this through soulsense. You've never had that sense before. How would your brain fabricate **_**that?**_"

"Drugs do weird things to people." Ruby would have shrugged, but she was at least a shoulder short.

"**And how would you remain so eloquent on drugs? Consider the argument you are having. With a **_**god**_**.**" The room shook as the woman said the last word.

"Maybe I only _think_ I'm eloquent right now. And as soon as the drugs wear off I'll realize the whole thing was gibberish."

The woman, the one who called herself a god, sighed as she planted her forehead into her palm.

"**I had no intention of showing this to you, but I need to take this seriously, and you've left me with little choice.**"

"Show me what?"

"**The present.**" The woman swirled her hands over the table.

"So, what, are you gonna show me my own funeral or…" Ruby trailed off as the image formed above the desk.

A glassy, dead grey eye stared at her. Her own eye. The other… not really visible amongst the bloody pulp that once made up the right side of her face. Her limbs were splayed unnaturally across the pavement… but the part that really got her… was Yang.

"Ruby no! You can't die! YOU CAN'T!" Yang screamed as she futily attempted chest compressions, most likely just so she could feel like she was doing _something_ to help the situation, rather than accepting that they wouldn't help. Tears and mucous streamed down her face as she screamed, mixing with blood before it dripped off of her chin. Yang was covered in blood. It was all over her face and arms, it matted her hair… the hair that Yang never let anything touch, and here she was, ignoring the fact that it was becoming a bloody mess to desperately attempt to resuscitate a corpse that was clearly beyond saving.

And that made Ruby painfully aware of her new lack of tear ducts.

"Oh…" was all she could think to say.

"**Oh indeed.**" The goddess offered sympathetically as she dismissed the image. "**Ruby Yin Xiao Long, you have died, and are here to be judged. I, Pyrrha, goddess of Victory, Heroism, Bravery, Redemption, and Self Sacrifice, have decided to take your case.**"

"What exactly does that mean?" Ruby pulsed much less confidently than before.

"**It means you are either incredibly lucky… or unlucky.**" Pyrrha responded, nodding her head at the weight of her own words. "**You saved your sister's life, expecting only oblivion as your reward. You did not even expect the comfort of death. And that has caught my eye. As such, I offer you this choice: Join me in the Afterlife: In Valhalla, the hall of heroes, and know that you may proudly walk among them… or… Return to Earth, as a Reaper, to protect humanity, including those you love.**"

"Why does it sound almost like you're offering me a job as a superhero?"

The goddess chuckled.

"**Because it's not entirely dissimilar. As a Reaper, your job would be to seek out and destroy the demons that escape to Earth before they can do the same to humanity. You would be responsible for doing this from the shadows, staying out of sight to avoid causing a panic. You will receive gifts in order to do so. Gifts that you would probably choose to describe as 'superpowers', yes.**"

"So… I get to come back to life, see my family, and secretly fight monsters? Well, then, I'm your Batwoman! Where do I sign?"

The goddess held up a finger.

"**Before you do, I'd like to clarify the terms.**" She returned her hand to her desk. "**Miss Xiao Long, you will not, strictly speaking, be alive, though you will be given a physical body. And while you will be able to watch over your family, you will be forbidden from allowing them to see **_**you**_**. You died, Ruby, and we are no longer in the business of advertising our miracles. They must believe that you have stayed dead.**"

"Oh." Ruby sensed her own light dim. "I guess that's… that makes sense, yeah. That… doesn't change my decision. I still want to be able to protect them. I can do that, right? Be their guardian angel, or Reaper, or whatever?"

"**Of course, Miss Xiao Long. Though we'll need to create a new identity for you.**"

"Oh… that reminds me. I appreciate you… calling me by my actual name and stuff, instead of… yeah."

Pyrrha's expression softened.

"**Of course, Ruby. True names follow the soul, and it was our mistake to begin with. One which we shall fully rectify when we send you back.**"

"So… how much of my name do I have to change? I mean, I kinda already had to pick most of it, and I like what I chose…"

"**Just the last name should be sufficient.**"

"In that case, is 'Rose' okay? Like, I understand if it's not, because it was my mom's, but…"

"**That will do fine, Miss Rose.**"

0+-+-+-+0

Ruby groaned as she flopped down on the couch she was staying on. She could feel Pyrrha constantly prodding against her Soulsense. A not so subtle way of saying "call me". Ruby had been ignoring it since it began, hours earlier, after she'd looped back to talk to Yang.

She knew better than to put off talking to the goddess for long, but if it was _really_ that important, Pyrrha would have simply appeared before her to chew her out.

Still, Ruby wasn't looking forward to it.

She decided to just rip off the band-aid, sending her own ping in the goddess's direction.

"Yeah, I know, I fucked up." Ruby sighed as Pyrrha's spectral form coalesced in front of her.

"You did." Pyrrha confirmed. When talking at such a distance, the goddess's voice didn't boom with the same **power** as it did being in her presence. "And you will be forced to deal with the consequences."

"You… uh… weren't exactly clear on those before."

Pyrrha crossed her arms and gave a disapproving glare.

"I didn't expect you to actually make this particular mistake."

"Well, I tried not to!" Ruby insisted, throwing her hands into the air. "But then she _chased_ me! And she was attacked, and I had to save her, and-"

"And she would have just written it off as a grief hallucination if you hadn't _come back._" Pyrrha cut her off.

"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure of that. Yang can be kinda boneheaded sometimes." Ruby let her arms fall dramatically.

"Regardless," Pyrrha said, "you have offered her a window into the magical world. That is very dangerous, for both her, and you. You will need to ensure she doesn't abuse the power of the gods. You must make absolutely certain she does not become a _Demon Seed._"

"Wait, hold up." Ruby sat up and looked the floating image of Pyrrha in the eye. "Are you saying that just _anyone_ can summon demons?"

"If they do the right things, yes." Pyrrha nodded solemnly. "Things that can only be done _after_ one's mind is opened to the supernatural. As you have done for Yang."

"Well, if the punishment is just making sure she doesn't do something _really_ stupid, I'm pretty sure I can handle that." Ruby sighed, flopping back down.

"This task has a worse punishment for failure." Pyrrha's voice adopted a more ethereal tone. "Should your sister summon a demon, and herself become a Seed, you will be personally responsible, not merely to kill her, but to rend her soul, and consign her to oblivion."

"Oof. No pressure there, huh?" Ruby groaned. "Well, I"ll just explain that to her. She only tends to do stupid stuff when she doesn't _know_ things. Like she did today."

"Be careful, Ruby." Pyrrha said as she began fading away. "The more you tell her, the easier it would be for her to learn how to summon them."

"I know Yang can keep a secret." Ruby muttered to no one in particular. "Sometimes you just gotta trust people."

"Trust who now?" A voice came in from the window.

"How'd you hear _that?_" Ruby asked glancing over to see her roommate enter the apartment from the window. "Oh, right. You're just in Reaper Form, like, _all the time_. And doing stuff like walking through Windows. Windows aren't _doors_, Blake!"

"I prefer to change up my routine." Blake responded as she pulled a bottle out of the fridge. "And to be as aware of my surroundings as I can be. Besides, I stick to my normal human form for my side hustle."

"Oh, and I bet that's just _torture_ for you." Ruby shot back.

"Well," Blake started before taking a long sip. "I wouldn't _quite_ call it torture, but… yeah."

"Are all the experienced Reapers as weird as you, or did I just get stuck as your understudy because no one else would take you?"

"Ouch, Ruby." Blake rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I'll have you know I take _pride_ in my strangeness."

"You _would!_" Ruby groaned.

"Shut up. You know you love it."

"No!" Ruby lied insistently. "I didn't ask for this weirdness! I just wanted to be a normal girl! With normal knees!"

"Your knees aren't the weird part about you." Blake deadpanned as she stepped over to the couch expectantly.

Ruby groaned, threw her hands up in defeat, then shifted to only take up half the couch, like a normal-kneed person would be expected to.

"So…" Blake began as she sat down on the other side of the couch. "Rough day?"


	3. The Witch: Chapter 3

It was the best sleep Yang Xiao Long had had in months.

So it surprised her that she was so eager to get out of bed.

She knew why, of course: Ruby was alive.

Well, not alive-alive, apparently, but not dead, at least.

Maybe a _little_ dead, in a technical sense.

In any case, her sister being kinda-dead instead of dead-dead was certainly an improvement.

"Responsible" Ruby was a bit of a downer, though. Yang missed the days where she could get an almost immediate response any time she texted Ruby, day or night. Now, messages were few and far between… from Ruby, at least.

Her boredom and curiosity had gotten the better of her while waiting. Last night, she'd spent far too much time trying to find… anything, in terms of answers.

0+-+-+-+0

_BurningHeart: This is going to sound kinda weird, but have any of you had, like, a friend or someone secretly come back from the dead? _

It was a paranormal chat group Yang had found while searching for information on what, exactly, happened with Ruby. There were all kinds of "secrets" and "rules" Ruby had to follow, so she didn't expect her sister to be particularly forthcoming, but she _had_ to know. And besides, she couldn't be the _only_ person dealing with something like this, could she?

She figured this chat was mostly safe, since it was full of people posting clearly made up stories and creepypastas. The line here between real investigation and fantastical storytelling was blurred. If anyone here actually took her seriously, no one else would take _that_ person seriously. Plus, it was anonymous, so she had every ability to play it off.

And most of the replies were less than helpful. People were using it as a prompt for their own short stories with… very different situations than what she was looking into, and others speculating about ghosts, vampires, and zombies.

She was _pretty_ sure Ruby wasn't a vampire or something. And she was definitely corporeal.

Fifteen minutes later, when she was hovering her mouse over the "x" in the top right corner of the chat window, she received a private message that caught her interest:

_Hexeis: I couldn't help but notice that you did not engage with the storytelling. This is a real thing, isn't it?_

Yang bit her lip as she pondered closing the window… or how she might reply if she didn't.

Eventually, she moved the mouse, and clacked away at the keyboard.

_BurningHeart: Maybe._

_BurningHeart: What's it to you?_

_Hexeis: I might know a thing or two._

_Hexeis: Tell me, this friend of yours… were they wearing a suit when you saw them?_

Yang raised an eyebrow. This person might know something… or, they might just be an excellent cold reader with a lucky guess. She decided to move forward cautiously.

_BurningHeart: Why would that matter?_

_Hexeis: Because it's pretty standard for Reapers. Most of them hide out at home when they're not doing their Reaping._

_Hexeis: So if you see them in public, as you certainly would have - they are forbidden from contacting anyone they knew in life - you will see them in their work suit._

_Hexeis: So if they were in a suit, you might have run into something real. If not, well, honestly, I'm probably wasting my time on another person who was having grief hallucinations._

Oh. This person _definitely_ knew something. _Reaper_… she had a name for what Ruby was now… and it made sense: her sister had killed that wolf-monster with what looked like a scythe with its blade rotated to be a more effective weapon. Yang decided to push a little more, to get more information, but she still wanted to be careful.

_BurningHeart: Well, I imagine it would be kinda hard to hallucinate hugging them, but yeah, they had a suit. _

_Hexeis: You made contact?! You should be careful, Reapers can be dangerous. Animalistic, even._

_BurningHeart: My sister would NEVER hurt me!_

In her emotional response, Yang didn't realize how much she'd given away until immediately after her finger left the "enter" key.

_Hexeis: I see. My condolences._

_BurningHeart: What's that supposed to mean?_

_Hexeis: It means losing your sister in the first place must have been hard on you. And that you'll be unlikely to give up this contact even for your own safety._

_Hexeis: You are walking a dangerous path, BurningHeart. It is fortunate that I found you._

_Hexeis: It is no accident that I know these things. I walk a dangerous path, too._

_Hexeis: But, unlike you, I am a Witch. I have been trained in the arcane._

_Hexeis: I can teach you how to keep yourself safe. More safe, at least._

Had Yang heard such a pitch yesterday, she certainly would have laughed it off. A few hours ago, things like magic and Witches were sheer fantasy, but after Ruby, and the superpowers, and the rose petals… well, seeing is believing, they say.

She had a nagging feeling that something was off. Old conditioning she'd tried to shake herself from echoed in her brain: _You can't trust anyone, Yang._

She decided to blame the newness and unusualness of all this, and continued out of spite. "Hexeis" had been nice enough to share all this information while hardly getting anything from Yang in return. They were probably trustworthy, right? They were just trying to be helpful, even if their concern was, perhaps, misplaced?

And the idea of learning some magic of her own was… certainly appealing.

_BurningHeart: Okay, then. What do I need to know?_

_Hexeis: Well, truth be told, it'll be much easier if I can show you._

_Hexeis: Which city are you in?_

Yang hesitated for just a second, before growling at the voice in her head and responding.

_BurningHeart: Vale area. You?_

There was a pause. A little too long, but… hadn't Yang just done the same thing?

_Hexeis: New York._

_Hexeis: This is convenient. It should only be a short flight for me._

_Hexeis: Are you available tomorrow?_

_BurningHeart: You'd buy last minute tickets for this?_

_Hexeis: It's not really a bother. I have an "in" at the airline. Won't cost me a dime. You should see my frequent flyer miles balance._

_BurningHeart: Well, if you're sure, the craziest thing I had planned for tomorrow was grocery shopping. _

_Hexeis: Excellent._

_Hexeis: My flight will land around 10AM._

0+-+-+-+0

She'd spent much of the rest of the night chatting with "Hexeis". She'd learned the creature Ruby saved her from was a type of demon called a "Beowolf", and that Reapers, like Ruby, spent most of their time hunting them down. She'd been given an overview on important magical concepts, like flow, energy, symbolism, and belief.

She'd even learned her first spell: a simple one to make a compass that pointed to anything she had a piece of. With a loose hair from one of her brushes wrapped around a pencil, some intricate drawings, and some guided "energy channeling" from Hexeis, she now had… a pencil that spun around her desk to continually point in her general direction.

Honestly, it was a teensy bit creepy.

But also: _Holy shit_. She had done _magic_. And that was _awesome_.

The pencil was still following her as she got dressed. Hexeis said it should last until the next sunrise, right? She hadn't actually expected to be up before then.

She felt the sun before she saw it.

But… feeling wasn't _quite_ the right word. It was different. More akin to the "energy channeling" she'd done the night before, but in reverse. The sun's energy crashed over her like a massive wave, and she watched the pencil shake for a second, then stop moving. She leaned back and forth a bit, just to see if it would still follow her. As expected, it did not.

Sunrise had _never_ felt like that before. Was it because she had done magic?

Next to the pencil, her phone suddenly started shaking.

It took her a second to realize that it wasn't magic, just a message.

A message, from Ruby.

_Agent Rose: Gonna be pretty busy today, and I won't be able to text, but I can meet you over by the swings at Patch Playground tonight? Lotsa stuff we need to talk about._

She tapped out a quick reply:

_Yang: Alright, I'll see you there!_

And… no response. She sat by her phone a bit, just in case, but after about ten minutes, she decided just to get on with her day. She just had to hold out until tonight.

And maybe learn a bit more magic in the meantime?

She swapped apps and sent a different message:

_BurningHeart: Good morning! Hope you have a safe flight!_

Unlike Ruby, the response was almost instant.

_Hexeis: Good morning to you as well! To be honest, flying will probably be the least dangerous thing I do today._

_BurningHeart: Well, don't threaten me with a good time. See you in a few hours!_

After a few seconds of pondering, she added:

_BurningHeart: Got a top of the line broom, then?_

_Hexeis: Don't be ridiculous. This is the modern world! Witches do not fly on brooms._

_Hexeis: Like everyone else, we take advantage of modern conveniences._

_Hexeis: We fly on roombas._

Yang stifled a laugh at the image of some green-skinned bewarted hag zipping around the sky on a roomba, and skipped out of her room with a bit of a spring in her step.

Maybe she should do the grocery shopping now? The store _was_ open 24 hours.

She opened the door to step outside, and nearly knocked her Uncle Qrow over.

"Woah, Yang! Where's the fire?" He drowsily growled.

"Um… good morning Uncle Qrow!" Yang quickly turned her stumble into a hug, then pulled away from him. "Kinda forgot you were coming over today."

"Uh-huh." He studied her with a judgemental eye. "And I forgot that you woke up before noon, given that you haven't done that even _once_ over the last few months. You look…" His expression shifted to concern, and he placed his hand on Yang's shoulder before drawing in with a gruff whisper. "Is it drugs, Yang? What are you on? It's okay, you're not in trouble, I'm just here to help."

"What, no!" Yang pushed away from him, shaking her head and waving him off. "I'm not on drugs!"

"People don't just magically stop being depressed overnight, Yang." He crossed his arms and gave her a flat stare.

Yang bit the inside of her cheek as she came up with a quick lie.

"It's… I found an old message. From Ruby." She looked down. Tried to look pensive. Held her arms to herself to sell the lie. "And it finally made it hit home." She bit her lip, just hard enough that the pain would put her over the edge on producing a tear. "She wouldn't want me to be like… like I was." Okay, that was bringing some real emotion. Maybe she hadn't needed to fake the tears. "And you know, I… I'd do anything for her." Yup. Those were real tears coming on. "If that means moving on, then… that's what I'll do for her. She didn't… didn't save me just so I could… mope the rest of my life."

She looked back up to see her Uncle's eyes glistening as well, and she could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. Hers were no longer from loss, though: they were from guilt. Knowing that Ruby had been watching her, seeing the hurt she'd gone through, and being unable to help…

"That's very brave of you, kiddo." Uncle Qrow started to get choked up on his own words. "You were always a fighter, y'know? Kinda like…" he stopped himself, knowing the comparison he was about to make would not have been looked upon favorably. "A-Anyway, it's good to see you up and about."

Yang's response of "I know" was muffled by a crushing hug.

A few seconds later, he let her breathe again.

"Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" He said. "It's okay to take your time. Your brother-"

"Sister." Yang interrupted insistently.

"-Sister would understand."

"I won't. Just going grocery shopping today."

"Trying to go when no one else is around?" Uncle Qrow tilted his head. "Kinda defeats the purpose of it, doesn't it?"

It honestly didn't really matter anymore since she knew Ruby was fine… ish. But she couldn't tell him that.

"Well, baby steps, Uncle Qrow." She responded.

"Alright, but we'll definitely need to get you around people before you try to go back to work, okay?"

"Okay." Yang nodded solemnly.

"Proud of you, Kiddo." He gave her one last hug, complete with a pat on the back, before stepping inside. "I know you have the list, but if there's anything you're having trouble with, don't worry about it. I can pick it up later."

"Alright. Thanks Uncle Qrow!" Yang called back to him, before continuing on towards the grocery store.


	4. The Witch: Chapter 4

0+-+-+-+0

Ruby Xiao Long fidgeted in front of the mirror, giving her skirt another go over in an attempt to find creases and lumps that weren't even there.

"Are you sure this is going to be okay, Yang?"

"It'll be fine, Rubester!" Yang responded with a few pats on the head. "You look great!"

Ruby groaned as she batted the hand away.

"Yaaaang! My name is _Ruby!_" She turned to her sister and put on her best set of puppydog eyes. "Please…"

Yang sighed and looked away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"The nicknames they… help me make it real, okay?" She returned her gaze to Ruby, biting her lip slightly. "If I'm making nicknames off of your name, then… it doesn't seem like just another nickname to me."

Ruby pulled Yang into a soft hug. The logic made sense, and she didn't like making her sister sad, but still…

"I just… it really feels good to hear _my_ name, okay?"

"Okay, Ruby." Yang said softly, bringing up a hand to pet her hair. "But I still need to use the nicknames sometimes… otherwise I might end up letting a 'RyRy' or something slip out."

Ruby physically cringed at the old nickname, causing Yang to tighten the hug.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Yang began.

"I know." Ruby relaxed into the hug. "I'm probably gonna hafta get used to it anyway, what with everyone at school."

"I told you, it'll be fine!" Yang insisted as she resumed stroking Ruby's hair. "Ruby, you look great. And people are better about this sort of thing than they used to be."

"You and dad weren't exactly thrilled about it."

"But we still came around, okay? Other people will too. The school's already on our side. And you're awesome! Everyone's going to think you're the bee's knees!"

Ruby groaned and flopped out of the hug onto her bed.

"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees', okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"You already are a normal girl." Yang sat on the bed next to her, and handed her her favorite corgi-shaped pillow.

"'Normal girls' don't get forced to compete against the boys for their senior year of track." Ruby hugged the pillow tightly to her chest.

"That's… out of the school's hands." Yang sighed. "Besides, people aren't gonna see it as you being a weirdo. They're gonna look out there and see a girl who's fast enough to run with the boys. Girls _are_ allowed to compete with them, y'know? They just usually don't. I was on the boys' wrestling team, after all."

"Yeah, well, we didn't _have_ a girls' wrestling team!" Ruby groaned. "But… you might be right. I hope you're right…"

"Oh, come on, Rubes!" Yang teased. "Your big sister is _always_ right!"

Ruby turned to Yang and simply raised an eyebrow.

"T-That was just one time!" Yang stuttered out.

The eyebrow remained raised.

"That other one doesn't count!"

The eyebrow failed to budge.

"Okay, fine! I was young, and stupid! And he was hot, and popular!"

"You're still young and stupid!" Ruby giggled, jabbing Yang in the ribs.

"Gasp!" Yang dramatically declared with a hand on her chest, feigning offense. "My own sister! Turned against me! The sister I practically raised! Which means if I'm stupid then she must be stupider!"

"Mmm… nope!" Ruby giggled as she let the 'p' pop, and continued her assault of her sister's ribs.

"How will I ever defeat such sound logic?" Yang rolled her eyes as she stifled her own giggles. "You must be some sort of grand orator. Or a cunning linguist."

"Ew… Yang gross!" Ruby's pokes turned into light slaps. "You know I don't want anything to do with that stuff!"

"Lucky for me, too." Yang laughed, sending a return volley of pokes to Ruby's ribs, which forced the younger girl onto the defensive. "I won't have to worry about you bringing home any boys for me to beat up."

"O-Or g-girls!" Ruby managed between giggles and she fought valiantly to push Yang's hands away.

"Eh… boys are pushier." Yang simply declared as she ceased her vicious tickle-torture.

There were a few moments of comfortable silence as the sisters grinned at each other.

Then, Ruby remembered what she had been thinking about, and rolled onto her other side.

"I'm still going to be stuck with a bunch of people who remember how I used to be."

"Doesn't mean it'll be bad." Yang began rubbing soft circles into Ruby's back. "Yeah, people might take a bit to get used to it, but you haven't actually changed that much, and people will figure out that it's not a big deal. If anyone gives you crap, the teachers should help, and if need be, I'll crack some heads, too."

"Dad said you shouldn't use your… um… 'training' to hurt people."

Yang sighed, her thumbs unintentionally digging a little deeper.

"And mom said I had to take care of you. So if someone _really_ deserves it…"

"I don't want to hurt people, Yang. And I don't want you to, either."

"Even if they're jerks?"

"Even if they're jerks." Ruby turned her head to look at her sister. "I love you, Yang. And I don't want you to end up like…"

Ruby realized what she was about to say, and stopped herself with a gasp. Yang's hands came off her back and clenched at her sides. Her eyes began to redden.

"I'm not anything like that bi-... anything like her."

"I know." Ruby squeaked. "I'm sorry."

The silence was deafening as Yang closed her eyes and took deep breaths, her belly rising and falling as she worked to calm herself down.

When her eyes opened, they were violet again.

"It's okay, Ruby." Yang said as much to herself as her sister. "It's okay."

Now that it was safe, Ruby rolled over, sat up, and hugged Yang.

"Sorry." She repeated.

"It's okay." Yang returned the hug. "It's okay. This is supposed to be about you, not me, anyway. You're finally going to get to live as yourself, right?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "It's… almost like I wasn't even alive before, really."

0+-+-+-+0

Ruby Rose had never felt more alive.

Soul Form enhanced her senses. She could hear better, see further, smell _everything._ It gave her an incredible amount of battlefield awareness, especially combined with the clearer soulsense.

Soul Form made her more durable. She could take a hit like the one that had originally killed her without even flinching. And even if she _did_ get hit hard enough to take damage, it would heal within seconds.

Soul Form made her _powerful._ Not only did it give her a superpower (superspeed), it made her _crazy_ strong. Strong enough to lift up a truck if she had to. Strong enough to punch through concrete, or kick through the bony, armored plating of demons.

And it came with cool accessories, too. She loved the way her cloak fluttered behind her, and her reaper's scythe was incredibly satisfying to use.

Like right now, when it carved its way through a trio of Beowolves like butter.

She'd finally found the pack. Yesterday, she'd almost lost them when the one she was trailing attacked Yang, and she was forced to step in to save her sister. Today, she'd stumbled across a new lead.

The "forest" she was in was really meant to separate the graveyard from the hustle and bustle of the city beyond, but it was quite a bit larger than necessary for that. And with the negative emotions coming from the graveyard's visitors, it made an almost ideal nesting ground for lesser demons.

She'd have to remember to check this area every so often, and make sure it stayed clear.

Right now, it was filled with the largest Beowolf pack she'd ever seen, and she was having a blast.

While it was true that the benefits came with some vulnerabilities, mere Beowolves were no real threat to a Reaper in Soul Form.

She zipped through the treeline, cutting down demons with reckless abandon. To them, she must have been a twirling nightmare, trailing rose petals and death.

As she approached the final Beowolf, she leapt onto its shoulders then swung her scythe in between its legs. The demon shot her a confused look as she grinned back, pushing off of its shoulders and letting her trailing blade do its job. Two vertically-bisected halves hit the ground before dissolving into black smoke.

The arc of her jump carried her over the graveyard fence, and, as she stuck the landing on top of a gravestone, she twirled her scythe behind her and posed.

She was a badass! She was on top of the world, and nothing could stand in her way! She was…

… standing in an empty graveyard, posing like an idiot.

She let the Soul Form drop with a sigh, and carefully stepped down from the grave, making sure to avoid the withering roses that surrounded it.

As she reached the path winding through the graveyard, the familiarity of the perspective struck her.

She twirled around, searching for the grave she'd landed on.

Her stomach dropped as she read the name.

"Summer Xiao Long (née: Rose)"

A few feet to the right, she found her own, and was glad to see that they hadn't bothered to add the name she was "born with".

It _was_ the first time she'd been here since she returned.

As Pyrrha would probably tell her, the universe might have been trying to tell her something.

She sighed, and froze for what seemed like an eternity before walking up to her mother's grave.

"Hey, mom." She started. "I know it's been a while, but I've been… well, I guess I was a little bit scared of coming back here, honestly. I… kinda died too. I mean, I got better, sorta, but… well, you probably saw them put me into the ground. Which means… I guess I know a lot more about what you would have gone through. And it's… nice to know that you can probably actually hear me, instead of just, y'know, thinking I'm talking to myself. I'm sorry I didn't stick around in the afterlife long enough to actually see you again, but… I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have wanted me there. Not yet, at least. And… with any luck, it'll be much longer than you had thought. Pyrrha made me a Reaper, and… now I'm helping people like you did. Except, y'know, protecting them from demons instead of robbers and thugs. But they're both very important!"

Ruby paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"They gave me a mentor, too! Her name's Blake, and she's weird, but actually, like, really awesome. She's almost like a real life ninja! And she's _so_ good at killing demons! I hope I'll be that good at it one day… but… I'm already in a bit of trouble for messing up. I wasn't supposed to let anyone know that I came back, but… Yang found out anyway. It's funny… even though I died to save her, she still hasn't let that get in the way of that promise she made to you, that she'd always take care of me. Gonna have to be careful, though. It's not really safe for her to do that anymore. And the last thing I'd want is for her to get hurt, too. I have to protect her, now, but sometimes I just want-..."

Ruby stopped to wipe away her tears, not caring that they might stain her fancy suit sleeve. She had to gather herself before continuing.

"I really miss you, Mom. And I miss Dad. And uncle Qrow, and I missed Yang, but… I wish you could come back, and tell me it'd be okay. To hold me and make me feel safe again. I need that, and Yang… she's doing that for me now, I guess, but I didn't want to put her in danger. And now she might be and it's all my fault and I just… how did you guys do that? How were you both able to be so strong without anyone to hold you up? I can't do it without her, but it's too dangerous to do it with her! I don't know what to do and I just-..."

Ruby stopped as a warmth surrounded her, detectable only via her soulsense. She relaxed as she realized what it was.

Maybe it was too much for a soul in the afterlife to talk back to the world of the living, but apparently, Summer had found a way to give her a hug, anyway.

Ruby sat down in the grass, letting the warmth surround her as she let out tears she'd been holding in for months.


	5. The Witch: Chapter 5

_BurningHeart: How will I find you?_

_Hexeis: I'll give you one word: White. You're smart, you can figure it out from there._

_BurningHeart: Well, then! I'll leave you with a color of my own: Yellow!_

True to her word, Yang Xiao Long was decked out in as much yellow as she owned as she stood near the Vale Airport baggage claim… which was a lot. From her obnoxious sunflower sunglasses down to her finest pair of yellow slacks, she was a walking color.

And a fashion disaster. Normally, these pieces would be balanced against something more reasonable in her wardrobe, but when Yang went all in, she went _all in_.

So, too, did Hexeis, apparently, judging by the approaching pristine-white-haired woman wearing an outfit as purely white as the driven snow. The woman sashayed up to her with a wide smirk, and placed a hand on her hip.

"This is almost as bad as I imagined." The woman said with the slightest hint of a German accent. "Though, in my head, you were also wearing yellow crocs."

"Even I wouldn't stoop _that_ low." Yang laughed. "Hex-e-iss, I presume?"

"Hex-a-ice" Hexeis corrected, going fully German on the pronunciation. "But, since we're in person, I'd prefer that you call me Weiss."

"And you can call me Yang." Yang said, offering her hand.

Instead of a handshake, Weiss pulled Yangs hand up to her lips, and gave her knuckles a polite kiss.

"Charmed." She responded, smirking over the knuckles.

"I'd find that charming, I'm sure, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree." Yang shot back with a chuckle. She was pretty sure that, if there was a woman she _could_ be interested in, at the very least they wouldn't need heels to cross the five-foot mark.

Weiss's exuberant laughter in response felt a bit off. Perhaps a little forced.

"I'm just being polite." She insisted.

Yang shook her head, not believing it for a second, but also tactful enough to not call her out on it.

Besides, she was a teensy bit flattered.

Although…

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but… isn't 'Weiss' in German pronounced more like 'vice' or something?"

Weiss shrugged.

"If you're talking about the color, sure, but my name is 'Weiss'. My father is English. He insisted on a pronunciation that he could handle."

"And now you live in America?"

A brief hint of confusion played across Weiss's face, before settling back into her smirking mask.

"Yes. Of course."

Yang elected to continue to be polite, and not call her out on it. The slip up had offered her enough information for now. Perhaps Weiss would expand upon it in due time.

Yang would just have to trust her.

_You can't trust anyone, Yang._ A voice echoed unbidden in the back of her mind. A relic from a darker time in her life. Yang rejected it.

"Should we grab your bags, then?" She leaned over to inspect the bags that were tumbling onto the carousel.

"It's just a day trip." Weiss said. "I didn't need any."

"Then… uh… where are you keeping, like, your alchemical ingredients, or magical doodads?"

"Doodads?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. Yang just shrugged in response. "Not really a thing." She whipped a fountain pen out from her sleeve, the inside of which, Yang noticed, was bright red. "This is all I need."

"Really?" It was Yang's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Really." Weiss offered a flat look. "Real witches aren't anything like the cartoon versions."

Yang put up her hands in defeat.

"Fair enough. So… where to, then?"

"Public Library isn't far from here, right?" Weiss asked without really asking. "We'll make use of one of the meeting rooms."

Weiss began walking before Yang could orient herself to figure out which direction it was in.

"Okay… lead the way, I guess." Yang grumbled to Weiss's back, staring at the elaborate snowflake embroidered into the back of her jacket.

Along the way, she whipped out her phone, and, on a hunch, googled "German for Witch".

Her pun senses tingled at the result.

"I think I get your screenname now." Yang called ahead.

"Oh?" Weiss asked, not even bothering to look back.

"Yeah. Witch, Ice. Weiss. Hexe, eis, Hexeis."

Weiss sighed, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Yeah. You got it in one."

"Aw… don't be like that, Weiss!" Yang chuckled. "It's clever, and I always appreciate a good pun."

Weiss turned her head, and a brief smile played across her face.

It was the first expression that had seemed truly _genuine_ to Yang.

l- - -l

"No, Yang. I am not going to teach you how to shoot fireballs out of your fists. I can't even do that!" Weiss groaned.

"But it's possible, right?" Yang said, resting her chin on her fist with a giddy smile.

"I mean, technically, if you…" Weiss trailed off. "No! Absolutely not! You hardly know the basics! I am _not_ going to start doing dangerous experiments with you!"

"Not _yet?_" Yang giggled.

"Not _ever!_" Weiss insisted.

"Aw… you're no fun." Yang leaned back, crossing her arms. "Fine, what _are_ we going to learn?"

"_You_ are going to learn some very _basic_ spells." Weiss sighed, rubbing her temple. "And _I_ am going to discover the limits of my patience, apparently."

Yang did her best to imitate her sister's puppydog eyes.

"I'll be good."

Weiss shook her head, waving Yang off.

"We'll start with something _really_ basic. Technically, even more basic than what you did last night, but it requires a _lot_ more energy to pull off." Weiss whipped out her pen, and began drawing a circle on a sheet of paper. "Copy me _exactly,_ remember, order matters, precision matters, and relative positioning matters."

Just like last night, Yang borrowed a compass to draw the initial circle.

"You're going to need to learn to freehand those if you ever want to be able to use magic in the field." Weiss teased.

"Yeah, well, I can practice drawing circles on my own time." Yang shot back.

"Fair, I suppose this will allow us to get _something_ done in our limited time."

As Yang finished her circle, Weiss began drawing little pips, triangles, squares, and tiny circles along the edge. Inside of the line first, but the order seemed random; jumping around the circle for each mark, and waiting for Yang to do the same before the next. Next, they did the same on the outside of the circle, in a different pattern. As they finished, Yang reached for her compass to draw the next circle.

"Only one circle, Yang." Weiss chided as she reached out to stop her. "I told you this one was simpler."

"Last night we did _six_." Yang pressed.

"Last night, we did a spell that had to do a lot of things." Weiss responded evenly. "Read the material, determine a symbolic link, determine the direction, rotate itself, attach itself to an item… Today, we're doing one that does _one_ thing."

Weiss placed her finger at the edge of the circle, and gestured for Yang to do the same.

Yang could almost _feel_ the thrum of energy as Weiss activated her spell, and while it _felt_ like it should have been something very impressive… just blew Weiss's bangs out of her face.

"Wind." Weiss explained. "Now, like I said, this requires quite a bit more energy, and since you don't come from a magical lineage as I do, you're going to need to push pretty hard to-"

Weiss was cut off by Yang doing exactly that.

Instead of a cool breeze over her face, Yang's came out as more of an _explosion_ of air. There was a loud "whoosh" before Yang stopped, followed by a series of smaller bangs as the drop ceiling tiles above them fell back onto the frame.

Weiss was speechless, her jaw hanging open.

Yang looked at the ceiling, then to her drawing, then to Weiss's, then back to her own.

"Did… did I do it wrong?"

"N-No! No!" Weiss finally reacted. "I just… seem to have wildly underestimated your, uh… magic potential."

Yang beamed as she took this new information in.

"I got a lot of it then?" She asked with a teasing tone. "More than you?"

Weiss raised a single eyebrow.

"Yes, but no." She collected herself back into a smug look. "If I tried that hard, the table would have collapsed."

It was Yang's turn to raise an eyebrow. The boast was a little _too_ boastful.

"Really?"

Weiss wavered under Yang's gaze.

"Okay, maybe not, but my sister would-!" Weiss stopped herself as she realized what she said.

Yang leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm and adopting a predatory smile.

"Sister, huh? Lemme guess… older? Stronger? Hotter? Better than you at everything?"

Weiss deflated into her seat.

"Was your sister like that, too?"

"Nah!" Yang laughed. "I _am_ that sister! Cheer up, though! You don't have to beat her at all the things she's good at and has spent more time doing. You gotta find the things _you're_ good at and she isn't."

"There's nothing she isn't good at." Weiss grumbled.

"Don't worry, you'll find it one day." Yang offered.

"Probably not." Weiss said quietly. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

With a sigh, Weiss pulled out a red pen and numbered the marks on her own circle, as well as drawing a line to highlight where the circle started and ended, labelled the whole thing "wind", then handed the sheet to Yang. It was much like the guide she'd sent her last night for the compass spell.

"Here." Weiss said. "You can make your own wind glyphs, now."

"What about fire glyphs?" Yang waggled her eyebrows.

"No!" Weiss scolded in a manner typically reserved for a pet. "We are not accidentally setting this place on fire." Yang gave her a look. "Or _purposefully_ setting this place on fire. Fire is _dangerous,_ and you still have no idea what you're doing! Besides… there isn't just a fire glyph… it's a combination of two different-... nevermind."

"Oh, fine." Yang groaned with a giggle. "What's next, then?"

Weiss pulled out a few more sheets of paper, drawing a different single-circle glyph on each then numbering and labeling them. By the time she was finished, she had produced ones for "cold", "water", "push", "pull", "spin", "anti-spin", "soul", "link", "enchant", and "find". She then lined up soul, link, anti-spin, find, spin and enchant in order.

"Recognize these?" Weiss asked.

Yang studied them for a few seconds, before the connection came to her.

"Those are the glyphs from last night. The ones that made up the compass spell."

"Precisely." Weiss confirmed. "All coherent spells are made out of stacked glyphs. You should be able to use these elemental ones to create a variety of spells."

"Like fire?" Yang asked.

"No." Weiss responded flatly. "Now pay attention, this part is important."

The next half-hour or so was spent with Weiss going over how the alignment of each glyph relative to the others determined how they would interact with each other, like how, in the compass spell, the link glyph interacted with the find glyph, even though there was an anti-spin glyph between them. Frankly, most of it went over Yang's head, but she was sure to take good notes on it. In the meantime, she noticed that spin and anti-spin were just inversions of each other, as were push and pull. In the margins, she wrote "inverted cold = heat?"

If there _was_ a "heat" glyph, Yang reasoned, it was almost certainly one of the two required for fire. Something Weiss didn't seem to want her to figure out.

How many other "elemental glyphs" was Weiss still hiding from her? It seemed like there was a lot more to magic than just those 11.

"And that about does it for basic spell syntax." Weiss finished. "Next, we'll move onto your first incoherent spell, and probably the only one you'll ever need. Summoning."

"Oooh, fun!" Yang said as her attention was recaptured. "So, like, standing around in a candlelit basement, chanting ominously in Latin to bring forth a demon slave to do our bidding?"

"Demons are… beyond your level." Weiss wavered. "You don't _really_ need them, anyway." She added in a barely-heard whisper. "No, you're just going to summon a simple wind sprite today. They're very useful for surveillance."

"Aw… that doesn't sound as fun." Yang pouted.

"But it is _safe._" Weiss insisted as she scrawled out a new glyph. "This is a barrier glyph. It's the soul of any summoning spell. You're going to stack a find glyph and a soul glyph on top of it, but don't complete the circle for the soul glyph. Leave a gap just wide enough to fit one finger in between it."

"Okay, but… how should I rotate them?" Yang asked as she began to copy the barrier glyph.

"For incoherent spells? Doesn't matter." Weiss said.

"Really? Not going to explode in my face because I was off the mark by three arcminutes?" Yang pressed.

"Not for this, no. You guide the spell yourself, instead of letting the glyphs do the work."

Yang shrugged, and finished drawing it out.

"Alright. Now place your finger in the gap, and concentrate on channeling." Weiss said, watching the circle intently. "Focus on trying to locate a small piece of living wind."

Yang focused all her energy into the spell, only to be rewarded with a fat load of… nothing. She clenched her teeth as she tried pushing harder.

"It's not working!" Yang whined.

"Really?" Weiss asked, looking back to Yang. "It shouldn't be that… have… your eyes always been _red?_"

Yang recoiled, pulling her hand away from the circle, which caused the spell to snap against her like a broken rubber band.

"Ow!" Yang sucked on her finger briefly.

"You shouldn't break a spell like that, you dolt!" Weiss insisted. "Stop channeling before you let go."

"Sorry." Yang said sheepishly, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

In through the nose, pursed lips on the exhale. Chest still, all motion in the belly. Smooth, quiet, and just deep enough. Just like they taught her to calm herself down.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes.

"Now they're violet." Weiss said. "What's happening with your eyes? Are you sure you're not part of a magical bloodline?"

"Sure as I can be." Yang shrugged. "I have a… rare genetic condition in my eyes. They should actually be blue, but there are… blood vessels on top of my irises, which make them look purple. When my heart rate goes up, they swell, and, well…"

"Magic seems like a simpler explanation." Weiss said. "You have the potential."

"Yeah, sure. The doctors definitely made that up so they wouldn't have to tell me about magic." Yang said, failing to keep her tone teasing. It came out rather bitter.

"You say it's genetic? Did one of your parents also have this?"

"It… came from the matrilineal side."

"From your mother, you mean?"

"No!" Yang slammed her fist onto the table.

For a brief moment, she let her pulse run wild, before closing her eyes and repeating her breathing exercise.

Weiss cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"A-Anyway, summoning." Weiss redirected. "You only need a light touch… it's easier if you don't, uh… try so hard. Being calm helps."

"Okay." Yang said, reaching forward to try again in a more relaxed fashion.

This time, she was able to almost see the little motes of elemental energy. A flash of warmth sought her out, rubbing against her like an overly affectionate cat. With a giggle, she found herself grabbing it before she could figure out what she was doing, and suddenly, floating in the middle of the circle was a small, candlelike flame with a cartoonish smile shimmering out from the middle.

"I said a _wind_ sprite, Yang!" Weiss shouted as she began drawing on her own palm furiously.

"Aw, come on, Weiss! He's friendly! Doesn't he look polite?"

The flame sprite chirped in response, causing Yang to let out an audible "aww".

"I'mma call you 'Wick', and we're gonna be best-" Yang was interrupted by a stream of water erupting from Weiss's palm, and Wick was no more.

Yang gave Weiss a look evocative of a kicked puppy.

"Fire. Is. Dangerous. Yang." Weiss emphasized each word by pounding her finger on the table.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Yang insisted.

"He's not dead, he's just… they go back to their elemental planes when they get disrupted in our world. Calm down!"

"You calm down! He wasn't hurting anyone!"

"He could have!"

"I could hurt people, too!" Yang stood up, slamming her palm against the table.

"Is that a _threat,_ Yang?" Weiss rose in an attempt to match her, but the height difference was obvious.

There were a few tense heartbeats as neither was ready to back down.

"No." Yang broke first, looking away before sitting back down and burying her face in her hands.

"Gods, you're hot when you're angry." Weiss's whisper was barely audible.

"Look, I don't care if you're gay," Yang grumbled into her hands, "and you're hardly the first person with the hots for me, but if you're going to be that _thirsty, _maybe you should spray _yourself_ with that watergun of yours."

As Weiss sputtered indignantly in response, Yang glanced through her fingers at what Weiss _had_ drawn on her hand. Compared to the splayed out drawings on the table, it looked like a stack of... Wind-Water-Spin. Good to know.

"L-Look, just, do it again!" Weiss said. "With a wind sprite this time! So I can teach you the next steps!"

Yang sighed, and did as she was asked. She located Wick again, and let out a held breath in relief of him being okay. He was more cautious in approaching this time, but still curious. Ignoring him, Yang found herself a dumb, boring wind sprite so she could continue the dumb, boring version of the lesson Weiss wanted to do.

And now she was looking at a grumpy ball of swirling wind.

"Good. You didn't mess it up this time." Weiss grumbled. "Now, before you release the barrier, you need to negotiate with the sprite. It will want payment for any services rendered. Usually, with weaker spirits, you can get away with offering them a temporary surge of magic, but different spirits might prefer other options. Wind sprites, for instance, tend to be fond of air from the summoner's lungs."

"Like, what, I'm supposed to let it just climb down my throat?"

"No! Goodness no, Yang. You just… like, breathe on it."

"Oh. So, should I do that now?"

"No, negotiations need to happen before payment! Now… important things to know, these negotiations are _binding._ You won't even be able to _try_ to cheat your way out of it, and neither will they… unless your _intent_ at the time of the agreement fits the letter of it, but _their_ intent has no bearing on what you're bound to do. Be careful of vague statements, and _never_ offer your name in payment."

"Names are bad?"

"_Extremely_." Weiss insisted. "Names have _power._ Well, only if transferred by contract, but still. Be careful."

"Okay, so… how do I do it?"

"Focus on the sprite. Connect to it, but do not channel any energies towards it. Listen, and you will know how to respond in kind."

"Oh… kay…" Yang said as she tried to do as told.

It wasn't really _language_ Yang felt coming back from it, but she did understand that the sprite was asking "Why?"

"I'm just trying to learn this sort of thing." Yang sent back. Or, well, something to that effect.

"What task?" The response came.

Weiss, of course, hadn't actually told her what to do with the sprite… so Yang decided to be… creative.

She was doing it to avenge Wick!

...Even if he was okay.

"Um… wrap the white haired girl's ponytail around her face." Yang sent.

"Payment?"

"Breath from my lungs."

"Agreed. Pay first."

Yang leaned over, then exhaled onto the sprite. It shuddered in a decidedly unpleasant way.

"Something wrong with my breath?" Yang sent.

"Is bad. Too spicy. But agreement already made. Lower barrier please."

Yang frowned, but stopped channeling into the spell. The sprite instantly shot towards Weiss, while Yang breathed into her hand, and took a smell. She hadn't eaten anything spicy, today. What on earth was the sprite on about?

Her musings were interrupted by a shrill shriek, causing her to glance over to Weiss just in time to see the sprite finish tying a knot in her hair to secure it to her face, and then vanish.

Yang groaned and rushed over to help Weiss. She hadn't meant for the little jerk to _tie_ her hair or anything! Just blow it into her face! Yang was the _last_ person to actually want to damage someone's hair!

As soon as she touched Weiss's hair, the smaller girl slammed a palm into Yang's chest, and suddenly she found herself on the other side of the room and covered in ice up to the neck. It wasn't as cold as she expected, however, and she began struggling to free herself.

Weiss managed to do so first, untangling her hair and turning her glare towards Yang.

"Why did you have it attack me?!" Weiss's pitch remained in the shrieking range.

"You didn't tell me what to tell it! And I just told it to blow your hair into your face, not… knot it."

"I! You! Grah!" Weiss threw her hands up in frustration as she returned to a more normal pitch and volume. "If I ever have a second student, and they are half as dumb as you, I'm giving up on them!"

"Second student?" Yang teased. "Are you telling me I popped your teaching cherry?"

"Don't phrase it like that!" Weiss said as her cheeks began to imitate the color of the mentioned fruit. "I might just leave you frozen like that for a few hours! How would you like that?!"

The ice around Yang cracked, shifted, and began crumbling off of her in chunks.

"You were saying?" Yang grinned.

"You… weren't supposed to do that. You weren't supposed to be _able_ to do that!" Weiss turned around and stomped back to the table they were using.

"Maybe you're not as strong as you thought?" Yang suggested as she kicked her legs free. "I mean, this isn't even that cold."

"N-No! That can't be it. I'm _very_ strong! I'm…" Weiss crumbled at the table with a wail. "I'm a failure."

Yang's big sister senses activated, and before she knew it, she was at Weiss's side, softly rubbing her back.

"Woah, hey. You're not a failure." Yang said softly. "You actually did a really good job. I learned a lot. Maybe you made a few mistakes, but that's how you learn, right?"

"Winter wouldn't make mistakes." Weiss moped. "Winter never makes mistakes. Winter's always perfect."

"Just because you don't hear about them doesn't mean she doesn't make mistakes." Yang offered. "It's _okay_ to make mistakes, okay."

"Not for my family."

"Maybe it's not okay to admit to them to your family." Yang shrugged. "But you can still make them. Do they need to know that your hair got tied in a knot? Or that your student was… uh… insubordinate?"

Weiss responded with silence.

"Look, as far as your family is concerned? If they never hear about it, the mistake never happened, right? Lord knows I've hid enough from _my_ dad." Yang said softly. "None of that has to leave this room."

"Then I have to keep working with you though." Weiss grumbled.

"Is that really so bad?" Yang asked.

SIlence.

"Really?" Yang pressed.

"I… guess not." Weiss groaned.

"See. You'll be fine. _We'll_ be fine." Yang gave her a few pats on the back. "So whaddaya say, pardner? Should we pick this up tomorrow?"

"Okay." Weiss sighed out.


	6. The Witch: Chapter 6

A bright light pierced through the room as her phone began to ring, and Winter Schnee flicked her cigarette butt in the direction of the ashtray, confident that it would find its way in.

She'd been waiting for this call all night. Sure, she knew it would come early in the morning, but sleep wasn't exactly necessary for her at this point.

"Good afternoon, Weiss."

"Good morning, Winter!" Weiss sounded unusually excited over the phone. Understandable, since she was undertaking her first solo mission.

"The tip was good, I take it?"

"Very." Weiss composed herself. "My new student has an excellent amount of magical potential. Almost as much as we-"

"And the Reaper?" Winter cut her off. Recruiting new witches was a secondary goal. Most didn't last long in the real world, anyway.

"I've not yet made contact." Weiss said, unease apparent in her voice. "Though I believe Yang will eventually lead me to it."

"Yang?"

"My new student." Weiss clarified quickly. "I… tried to be confident and charming, but she… she didn't..."

Winter sighed. This was not an ideal line of conversation to have with a family member. Still, she insisted on being supportive. She pulled another cigarette out of the carton with her lips, snapped her fingers, and lit it with the flame that appeared over the tip of her thumb.

"Not everyone is going to be into you, Weiss." Winter took a long drag. "Maybe she's straight? Sex appeal doesn't always work for me, either, you know."

"Yeah, and when was the last time it _didn't_." Weiss's tone was accusatory.

Winter went through a mental list of her conquests. She had to sort through a lot of people before she could find one she'd failed with.

"I suppose I've just been lucky." _Very_ lucky. "But it's happened before and it'll happen again. That's why you were trained with more traditional social graces."

"It's because you're tall, isn't it!" Weiss was probably pouting at the other end. A bad habit she'd yet to break. "Why couldn't I be tall, too."

Winter rubbed her temple, then took another drag.

"Plenty of people like shorter women, Weiss. You'll find someone eventually."

"Yeah, _eventually_." Weiss whined. "_You_ find someone about every five feet!"

"Weiss…" Winter chided. "You should stop comparing yourself to me. It's okay to not be the best. That's why we work _together_."

"I don't… I'm okay with not being the best! I just… wish I could be in the same _league_ as you."

"Then get better." Winter said simply, before shifting her phone to her other ear.

"I'm trying!" Weiss insisted.

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Did… you just quote _Star Wars?_" Weiss asked incredulously. "If _I_ quoted Star Wars at people, _I _would get called a dork."

"Then call me a dork." Winter said flippantly. "But it went over well with last week's conquest. Stupid Reaper thought we could get along."

"Things are going well in Mistral, then?" Weiss asked.

"They always do when I'm here." Winter sighed as the corpse in the internally-lit glass coffin at the other end of her hotel room began to stir. "Unfortunately, he wasn't stupid enough to give me the chance to make it permanent."

The rotting skin returned to warm color, the hair regained its blond shade, and blue eyes snapped open as fists began pounding soundlessly on the container. The corpse had become a man once more.

"Yeah… that part." Weiss's voice was quiet coming out of the other end of the speaker.

"I know you don't like it, Weiss." Winter nodded an order, and a wooden spike erupted through the center of the man's chest. "But it's necessary. If we don't kill them, they kill _us._"

"I know but… I still…" Weiss sighed. "Do you think that, maybe that's why she still won't let me summon them? That… that I'm not 'hard' enough?"

The man twitched, grabbing futility at the spike in his chest, trying to lift himself off of it, but the coffin was too small.

"No, Weiss. I don't believe that has anything to do with it." Winter took another long drag as she contemplated what she had to give up to gain the ability. "When the right time comes, you'll know it. In the meantime, stop worrying so much."

The man's eyes glassed over, and he became a corpse once more.

"Easy for you to say." Weiss Grumbled. "You'd been doing it for years by the time you were my age."

"And mother was 30 before she could." Winter said. "Your time will come, Weiss. Be patient."

"I know." Weiss said. "It's just frustrating."

The corpse crumpled into dust, and suddenly, the coffin was remarkably clean. An indicator panel on its side flashed a set of coordinates.

"Huh. Guess he finally gave up." Winter said to herself. "Looks like I need to move again, Weiss. But it was nice talking to you."

"Likewise, Winter."

"Take care of yourself, Weiss. And be careful."

"I will. I am a Schnee, after all."

As the call ended, Winter flicked her new cigarette butt towards the ashtray. A black, furry claw shot out of the darkness to snatch still-glowing butt, and placed it gently into the tray.


	7. The Witch: Chapter 7

Yang Xiao Long snuck back out of the apartment the same way she'd gotten back in: through her bedroom window. One of the perks of living on the first floor of an apartment building.

Of course, she could have just walked through the front door, but _that_ would mean having to talk with Uncle Qrow and her father about why she'd been out all day, and why she was going out again. It was easier to just let them believe she was holed up in her room like she had been for the past few months.

Still, she couldn't contain her excitement: she was going to see Ruby!

And she'd managed to figure out the heat glyph, even if Weiss had tried to hide it from her! It paid to be observant... though she wasn't exactly thrilled about the source of that skill.

Patch playground was just a few blocks away. Ruby hadn't exactly given her a precise time, but for her sister? Yang would be there from sundown to sunup.

After she arrived, Yang sat down on a swing and waited, idly swinging back and forth. It struck her how much _smaller_ everything in the playground was than she remembered, given that she hadn't been here since… well, it's not like Ruby had known about that particular part. Still, she felt like a giant in the swings, and was glad to see there were no children around… not that she would have expected any this close to dark.

Yang's phone buzzed as the sun finally disappeared over the horizon.

_Agent Rose: Okay, I'm off. I'll be there in about 20 minutes if you want to start heading to the playground._

Yang chuckled as she tapped out her response.

_Yang: I'm already here. You could have given me a time when you texted me this morning. :P_

It was a few minutes before she got a response.

_Agent Rose: Sorry, I didn't know what time the sun set and I didn't have time to look it up. But I'm on my way now!_

Yang sighed… it _was_ like Ruby to let something important like that slip her mind.

Swinging kept her from vibrating in her seat. The external calm and quiet warred with her internal raging excitement. The occasional stabbing, metallic creaks of the swingset did nothing to help, either.

She wouldn't be waiting long, but any amount of waiting was _torture._ Her sister was _almost here_ and she needed to see her!

Eventually, someone wandered into the park dressed in a red hoodie and a black skirt. _That_ was what Yang _expected_ her to wear. Certainly more than a _suit._

"Rubes!" Yang called out excitedly, drawing a smirking silvery grin.

Ruby's new eye color… would take some getting used to. Still, Yang was on her feet and approaching her sister in an instant.

"Wow…" Ruby called back to her with a barely contained giggle, "you look like that one time I discovered that I didn't like banana taffy anymore."

Yang laughed as she looked herself over, having forgotten her choice of outfit for the day.

"I assure you, it was absolutely imperative that I wore as much yellow as possible today."

"I'll bet." Ruby laughed openly and raised her arms for a hug-

-Only to suddenly hop back into a defensive stance as the two got closer, a wicked-sharp scythe suddenly in her hands and a hooded cloak materializing over her hoodie.

"What-?" Yang began to ask.

"There is something very dangerous _in your hair_." Ruby cut her off, pointing the scythe at something, and following it as it moved.

"Ruby, my hair is _fine_." Yang insisted as it dawned on her what Ruby was pointing at. "It's just Wick. He and I are friends."

On cue, the fire sprite popped up atop her head, and chirped happily.

"Yang…" Ruby began cautiously.

"_What?_" Yang asked insistently, not understanding why Ruby had a problem with this.

"You have a _fire sprite_."

"Yes?"

"In your _hair._"

"Uh-huh."

"Your hair that you are famously protective of."

"Yup."

"Fire sprites are made of _fire_."

"_And?_"

"Yang, you should be on fire! Your hair should be burning! How did you even get a fire sprite, anyway?! It's been _one day!_"

"Oh, he doesn't burn me."

"That's not how this works!"

"Sure it is." Yang insisted, directing Wick to spiral around her arm before resting atop her palm, the skin he passed over remained notably unburned... if a little warm.

She even reached a finger over to give him a little pet. It remained as unburned as the last few times she'd done it, and Wick chirped happily in response.

Ruby let out an exaggerated and exasperated sigh, her scythe and cloak disappearing with a scattering of rose petals.

"Okay, but… how?"

"Oh." Yang reached back to rub the back of her neck, carrying Wick back to her hair. "I kinda… summoned him. Resummoned him?"

Yang was certain that the glower on Ruby's face was _meant_ to be intimidating, but she couldn't see past the adorableness.

"This is, like, exactly the thing that got me into such big trouble in the first place! Dammit, Yang! Who taught you to summon?"

Ruby was clearly distressed. It was time to engage supportive big sister mode!

"This witch I met online." Yang sighed. "From… Germany, I think. She flew down here just to teach me."

"She flew all the way from _Germany?"_ Ruby raised her voice as she finished the sentence.

"I dunno, maybe?" Yang shrugged. "She tried to pretend she was from New York, but… she was definitely lying about that. Her name is Weiss, if that helps?"

"Weiss who?" Ruby pressed.

"I didn't get a last name out of her! I do know she has a sister, though! Named Winter!"

"Fuck!" Ruby shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "You brought a _Schnee_ here?"

"M-Maybe?" Yang stuttered, not expecting such an outburst from her sister. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It's a _very_ bad thing, Yang!" Ruby let out a frustrated combination of a grumble and a scream. "Schnees summon demons! My job is to fight demons! We don't exactly get along!" Ruby's shoulders slumped as the fight left her. "Gods… it only took _one_ day for you to… I told Pyrrha that I _needed_ to tell you as soon as possible, so you wouldn't… ugh."

"Sorry, Rubes." Yang wrapped her arms around herself and looked down, biting her lip. Making her sister Angry was the last thing she wanted. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's… not your fault." Ruby said as she surprised Yang with a sudden hug. "You didn't know. But we're going to fix that."

"Okay." Yang nodded, wrapping her arms around her sister.

Ruby pulled back and put a hand on Yang's shoulder.

"Okay, first things first… the _reason_ why you're not supposed to know about any of this is… humans who learn magic may eventually figure out how to summon demons. That is the worst possible thing. If you were to summon a demon…"

"You'd have to kill me?" Yang joked, chuckling to herself.

Ruby didn't laugh with her.

Her silver eyes were soberingly serious.

"Worse." Ruby corrected solemnly. "I'd have to destroy your soul. No afterlife. No second chances. And they'd make me do it _personally_."

"Oh." Yang's breath hitched. "That _is_ bad."

"Yes." Ruby nodded. "It is."

"So… no more summoning?"

"Summoning demons is… different." Ruby continued. "You can't do it by accident or anything, so as long as you know… actually summoning a demon means that you will eventually lose your humanity, and turn into one, if I don't kill you. So it's a terrible thing either way. But I trust you not to try it now that you know the consequences."

"Okay… good." Yang nodded. "I'd like to be able to bring Wick back if he gets poofed again."

A happy chirp emerged from her hair.

"You've still got to be careful." Ruby insisted. "You can't let people know you're doing magic. If they realize what you're doing… they'll gain the ability to learn magic themselves. And _they_ might eventually summon demons."

"Okay, so… it's a big secret. Got it."

"That means no using magic to get back at bullies."

"I don't have any bullies." Yang insisted.

"Yeah, well, I did, and I'm sure you still have people you have to deal with who talk badly about me." Ruby sighed. "And I need you to keep your temper under control."

"It is!" Yang protested. "I mean, mostly! It's been a few months at least."

"A few months where you were depressed." Ruby said. "_Promise_ me. No magic on normies."

Yang sighed.

"No magic on normies. Got it. Not like I _need_ it anyway."

Ruby gave Yang a flat look.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Yang grumbled. "Self defense only for that, too."

"You'd best." Ruby nodded sagely. "Also, you need to cut off contact with the Schnee. Hopefully, without you here, she'll get bored and leave."

"Okay, but… how will I learn more magic?"

"You won't." Ruby insisted. "It's dangerous, Yang!"

"Danger's never stopped me before!" Yang glared back at Ruby, lifting Ruby's hand off her shoulder. "Someone has to keep you safe!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I want to keep _you_ safe, Yang! Have you considered that?!"

"I…" Yang's anger wavered, and Ruby crushed her in another hug.

"You don't have to do it all alone." Ruby said softly. "You don't have to protect everyone. You _can't_ protect everyone. This isn't something you need to get involved in. I need you here… and you can't be here for me if you die too, okay?"

"Okay…" Yang sighed, crumpling onto Ruby. "I just…"

"It's _not_ your fault, Yang." Ruby began lightly petting Yang's hair, conspicuously avoiding the fire sprite. "There was nothing you could have done to save me, okay? It was either me or both of us, and I'm glad I could at least save _you_."

And with that, Yang could no longer hold back the tears.

"I was supposed to protect you."

"And you did everything you could."

"I needed to be there for you."

"And you were."

"I was supposed to take care of you."

"And you did. It's okay, Yang."

"It doesn't feel okay."

"Hey, hey, it _is_ okay, Yang." Ruby held her tighter. "I'm here. I'm still with you, even if it's… in a weird way. And mom? Mom is _proud_ of you, okay, Yang?"

"You don't know that." Yang sniffled.

"I do, actually." Ruby nodded slowly. "I died too, remember?"

"You saw mom?"

"Sorta…" Ruby shrugged lightly. "Enough to know how proud she is of us. That she still cares."

"Okay." Yang nodded against Ruby, squeezing her tight. "Okay."

They stood there holding each other for some time, before Yang's grip eventually relaxed.

"I'll get to keep seeing you, right?" Yang asked.

"Of course." Ruby insisted. "For as long as you stay willing."

"So, forever then?"

"If you have me." Ruby said. "I mean, I still have to do my job, but… my evenings are mine. And yours if you want them."

"Okay." Yang nodded. "I do. Will we keep meeting up here?"

"If you want to." Ruby said.

"Okay… that's… that'll work."

"Yeah, just… life does have to go on for you, though. So don't feel like you need to give me _every_ night. Just let me know if you have something else up. I'll understand if you get a boyfriend." Ruby finished in a teasing tone, jabbing Yang in the ribs.

"Okay, but… even if I do miss some nights, no one will ever be more important to me than you."

"I know." Ruby giggled. "But you're allowed to have other things that are important to you. I appreciate everything you've done for me, but… I'm all grown up now, And I'll still be here."

"Nope!" Yang insisted as she pulled Ruby into a smothering hug. "You'll always be my widdle baby sister! You don't get to grow up!"

"Yaaaaang! I'm 18!" Ruby giggled as she squirmed away. "That's an adult! Even… even if I'm gonna be 18 for forever now."

"Wait, you don't age?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Okay, I am _mad_ jealous." Yang said.

"There are downsides!" Ruby insisted. "I'll never be old enough to drink!"

"Pfft… that never stopped me." Yang giggled.

"Yaaaang! Stop being a bad influence!" Ruby whined.

"What, you told me you were an adult! You can take it now, right?"

The pout Ruby responded with had Yang doubling over in laughter.

"See! You'll always be my widdle baby sister!"

"Ugggh… you sound like dad." Ruby groaned.

"Yeah… that reminds me." Yang said as she held back a giggle. "Could you do me a favor?"

l- - -l

As Yang left the park, she couldn't help but notice something glinting brightly in the light of the streetlamps, on the side of a bush: A long white strand, too thick to be a spiderweb.

She frowned. If her hunch was correct…

Yang wrapped the strand around her finger, then pulled two mostly unused punch cards out of her wallet and squished the tightly wound coil between them. Satisfied that they'd stay in place, she slipped the stack back into her wallet, and continued on her way.


	8. The Witch: Chapter 8

"Mom, It's hard! I'm used to aiming _at_ the targets!"

"Well," Raven began, "you've started trusting the targets too much. You can't trust anything, Yang. Not even the targets. No points for hitting them."

Yang Xiao Long groaned, and pulled the trigger. Her shot went intentionally wide, and hit nothing.

"There. I didn't trust the rules or anything!" Yang insisted. "And I didn't hit the target. Are we done?"

Raven gave her _that_ look.

Yang knew the slap was coming, and she did her best to hide her flinch. Raven didn't like it when she flinched.

It was funny, the stinging in her cheek wasn't as bad as the anticipation of it anymore. This time, she was left waiting.

The slap didn't come.

It was how Raven kept her from trusting it, too.

"Smartass." Raven chided. "But you're finally getting the idea. Still, you need to get as close to the target as possible _without_ hitting it. Try again."

Another groan, and Yang had the target in her sights. A simple black rectangle, with the two top corners chopped off. Yang controlled her breathing, lined up dead center of the target, and let her aim drop, so it would (hopefully) strike just below.

Time slowed as she pulled the trigger.

The bullet crawled towards the target, letting her anticipate just how true her aim was. Her wits returned to her, and she tossed down the handgun, screaming at the bullet to stop, but it was in vain.

The bullet struck the white area just below the black target, and slowly tore its way through. Red sprayed out from behind the target as it bled. Hands reached in from the sides to cup the wound.

And it wasn't a target anymore.

It was her mom.

The real one.

The bullet had struck Summer just below the solid plate of her police body armor.

The plate that was shaped exactly like the target Raven had forced Yang to shoot at.

The shooting range was gone, and they were standing in a dark alleyway, slick from a light sprinkling of rain.

The gun wasn't on the ground anymore. It was in Raven's hand, still trailing smoke, and she trembled as she fell to her knees.

Raven had the gun, but Yang's finger still burned where she'd pulled the trigger.

And Yang closed the distance to Summer - to her _mom_ \- in an instant. She reached out with once again fourteen year old hands to hold her mother.

"You can't die!" Yang's voice pitched and broke. "Not again! Please!"

"It's okay, Yang." Summer said calmly, reaching out to stroke the side of Yang's face. "Gut shots aren't fatal. The important thing is, you're safe now. I can finally bring you home."

"I don't want to be safe! I want you to be alive again!" Yang sobbed. "I need you."

"Make sure to visit me in the hospital, okay?" Summer continued as if Yang had said something else. "Your dad and brother are going to be so happy to see you, and I can't wait to see their faces."

"Mom, please!" Yang cried out, still hoping that this time, something would change.

"You have to promise me you'll take care of your little brother for me, okay? While I'm gone?"

And yet, she knew, it wouldn't.

"I promise." Yang said, locking the words deep into her heart. "I'll take care of Ruby. But please… come back! We need you!"

The firm hands of a paramedic lifted her away from her mother.

"I'll see you soon." Summer said with a gentle smile. "I love you."

Then, her eyes went glassy.

And a different paramedic zipped a body bag shut over her.

Yang bolted upright as she awoke with a start. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears.

The wave of force that had crashed over her felt like it should have thrown her across the room. Was that another part of the dream?

It took her awhile to calm down. It had been some time since she'd last had _that_ particular nightmare. She hadn't had it since…

Since Ruby died.

At least Ruby came back, but Yang was still left mom-less. Just like she had been for the last six years.

The body bag was new, though.

It was… not a great way to start her day.

She closed her eyes, and pushed out with her magic, trying to find the warm sensation of Wick. She could use the sprite's support. Unfortunately for her, he was nowhere to be found. Did he run off on his own? It's… not like Yang put a lot of restrictions on him. Or any, really. Maybe Ruby and Weiss were right when they said he might be dangerous.

Yeah, that was the last thing she needed at the moment… an "I-told-you-so".

Well, she only had to worry about hearing that from one of them now, she supposed.

Yang stretched as she rolled out of bed, letting her joints settle with a satisfying series of pops. Compared to the last two, much more exciting days, she felt rather lethargic, and pretty down. Perhaps it was too much to ask that her depression simply be "cured", but… at least she was doing better than last week. Her therapist was always saying that it was okay to have some down days as long as she tried to keep the general trajectory upwards, right?

Maybe she'd just overdone it yesterday? It wouldn't be surprising.

As she padded out of her room and towards the kitchen, Yang decided that she'd probably just spend the day lazing about in her pyjamas. She grabbed her box of Raisin Bran, and felt her heart twinge as she noticed Ruby's box of Cookie Krunch sitting behind it. She'd been pointedly ignoring that for months, and, even though Ruby wasn't completely gone, Yang realized how much she missed the little things, like shared breakfasts. Ruby had always been a morning person, and, while Yang couldn't quite keep up, it was comforting to witness Ruby's boundless energy in the mornings. It certainly had made breakfast more fun.

Yang let her lips twitch the slightest bit upward with the bittersweet memories as she grabbed the milk from the fridge. Bittersweet… that was a good word for how her life had gone so far. Maybe that's why she hadn't allowed herself to enjoy those super sugary foods Ruby loved so much since...

Well… since she had become the primary maternal figure in Ruby's life.

Yang tried to shake the memory of the dream as she ate, and pretended she didn't notice her father entering the kitchen to grab a mug of coffee.

"It's good to see my 'Sunny Little Dragon' up with the sun for once."

Yang sighed, not really in the mood to deal with anyone, _especially_ not her dad.

"Uncle Qrow said… something like that yesterday." Yang said before loudly crunching into her cereal.

"Yeah, we were surprised you were out and about so much, yesterday." Tai took a sip of his coffee.

"I just went to the grocery store." Yang grumbled. "Like I planned with my therapist."

Tai let out a loud sigh.

"Yang, I'm not stupid, don't bullshit me."

Yang's stomach dropped as she forcefully slapped her spoon onto the table.

"What, do you have him _following me_ now?" Yang growled. "I _am_ an adult! I can do what I want!"

"I'm not…" Tai began. "I wouldn't have someone _follow you._ I'm just concerned. And you're not as sneaky as you think you are with that window."

"_Maybe_ I snuck out the window because I _didn't want to talk about it with you._ Did you think of _that?_"

"Yang…" Tai set down his coffee on the counter and sat across from Yang at the table, looking like he'd just been slapped in the face. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I've told you that before…"

"Doesn't mean I _want_ to." Yang could feel the anger bubbling up in her belly as she brought her glare up to Tai's eyes.

From the way he flinched back, she was pretty sure her eyes had gone red.

This time, she didn't even try to stop them.

"Oh god." Tai gasped. "It's the Branwens, isn't it? You're dealing with them again, aren't you, it's the only thing you wouldn't-"

Yang didn't even realize she had slammed the table with her other hand until her bowl clattered back down, spilling milk and cereal all over.

"I'm the absolute _last_ person who would deal with those bastards!" Yang shouted. "And you should know better!"

Tai crumpled inward, for once, looking smaller than Yang.

"I just… I don't want to lose you again." Tai said softly. "You're all I have le-"

"Maybe you've _already_ lost me." Yang's voice was colder, more venomous than she'd expected.

"What?" Tai asked, taken aback.

"You weren't there for us." Yang said, tone full of bitter ice. "When mom died. When we _needed_ you. When _I_ needed you. I might as well have been an orphan."

"I…" a tear slid down Tai's cheek. "One of the women I loved murdered the other. I wasn't in a good pla-"

"Yeah, well, I was kidnapped and my mom died!" Yang's voice rose, shattering the iciness as she began to cry herself. "I wasn't in a good place either, but I didn't let that stop me!" Her breath hitched, and when she resumed, her voice was quieter, full of pain. "I really needed a parent then. But Ruby needed one more. So I became one for her."

"Yang…"

"And you _promised!_ You promised us it wouldn't happen again! That you'd be _there_ for us next time! That you'd be there for me!"

Tai's head dropped, clearly avoiding eye contact with Yang. Seeing him look so small, so _broken,_ was too much. Yang felt sick, but she held down her bile, and stomped out of the room, leaving the mess that was once her breakfast behind. She stepped into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, leaning back into it and sliding down until she was cradling her knees.

Yang shuddered as she finally let her sobs run free. Months of pain and resentment towards her father, and she'd just… snapped. Let it all out in one go. And now, she felt empty. All that was left was regret.

She was there for a long, long time. Trying to control her sobs. Wishing she'd held her tongue. Wishing more that he'd just… been there for her.

After what felt like days, but was probably closer to hours, she felt a soft knock through the door against her back.

"Go away!" Yang's shout was muffled against her arms.

She needed to keep her dad away from her. Right now, she wasn't sure she could talk to him without hurting him _worse._

"Hey there, firecracker." The voice was dark, raspy. Uncle Qrow.

A weight pushed back against the other side of the door, and slid down to join her at the bottom.

"Y'know…" his voice came from closer to her height this time, "yelling at a depressed person isn't going to help them get better."

"I know." Yang said, feeling a pang from her heart.

"Your father's been through a lot. Lost a lot. He lost his parents before you were born. He lost Raven when she left him with a kid, then came back to steal you away from him. He lost his wife in order to get you _back._ He lost his son, and before you say it, I _know_ Ry… er… Ruby didn't change that much, but it _still_ felt like a loss to him. And then he _really_ lost her when she… a-and now, to hear him say it, he's lost you for good this time, too."

"I… I d-didn't mean…" Yang stammered out.

"Maybe not." Qrow said softly. "But you still said it, and… you wouldn't have if there wasn't at least some truth to it, right?"

Yang nodded mutely, not really taking into account that he couldn't see her response. Qrow gave her a good amount of time to say something anyway.

"Look, you… you probably think your dad's weak or something because he's had to rely on other people. But that's not true. It's the opposite, in fact. He's been at his strongest when he's _let_ other people help him."

Yang scoffed.

"Yeah, that's exactly how _Raven_ would have responded." Qrow said, and it hit Yang like a slap. "Even if you don't like to admit it, that year your spent with her rubbed off on you a bit. So maybe don't be like my sister. Be like your _mom_ and you can actually help. Or like your dad, even." Qrow let out a deep sigh. "Your mom probably never told you, but… Summer's first choice wasn't being a cop. She tried med school first, and… when she flunked out, she was devastated. But you know who was there to get her through it? Your dad was. Strong as she seemed? She needed _his_ help to get her life back on track. Then _our_ dad died, and _Raven_ pushed us all away. Wouldn't allow any of us to help her. Ran off to take over the 'family business' and abandoned us… but Summer? She remembered the help she got. Returned the favor. And she held Tai and I together."

"Then, when you were gone?" He continued. "Your mom and dad _both_ had days when they couldn't hold it together. So they leaned on each other… and they leaned on me. It was a big part of why R-Ruby ended up liking me so much. Then my sister killed your mom and… and I spent the next few years drunk and aimless. But Tai…" Qrow inhaled sharply. "He looked out for me. Checked up on me. Made sure I was okay. Invited me to holidays even though I was a wreck and you couldn't stand to be in the same room as me. Yeah, I _noticed._ But it's okay. I needed it. He kept me from falling further into the darkness, Yang. Your dad kept me _alive._"

"So yeah, when we lost Ruby…" Qrow let out a heavy exhale. "It was hard on me too, but I stepped up. I could _only_ step up because Tai was there for me before. The point I'm trying to make is, none of us could do it on our own. All of us needed help to get through the things we did, and we helped _each other._ And yeah, you're hurting, but you can help too. Like your dad's been trying to do, if you'd just _let_ him. Knowing when to seek help isn't weakness, Yang. It's _strength._ Strength that your bitch of an egg donor never understood. But that doesn't mean you can't find it. You had an okay day yesterday, right, Yang? Lend your dad just a _smidgeon_ of that strength today, and he'll pay it back tenfold tomorrow."

Yang remained silent as she processed it all, but her sobs had stopped, and her breathing evened out.

"I'm here for you if you need me, kiddo." Qrow said, and the weight left the door. "You just have to ask."

Yang remained silent.

"If it's okay with you, I'm going to check on your father again." Qrow said, pausing a few moments before softly padding back down the hall.

With a sigh, Yang stood up from her spot at the door, and slowly walked over to where her phone sat at her desk. She ignored the messages from Weiss, and the good morning from Ruby, instead tapping on the last message she'd received from her father: a panicked series of messages about how neither she nor Ruby had returned home yet. Messages from the night…

…the night they lost…

...that didn't matter anymore.

Yang attached the sound file she'd recorded last night, and hovered her finger over the send button.

Long seconds of indecision passed.

Yang slammed her finger down, then turned and collapsed onto her bed.

l- - -l

_Yang: Attached File: [In the event of my death. mp3]_

"Hey dad… Yang… if you're hearing this… well, hopefully I'm a little old lady and we're all laughing about it, but… it's… probably something you found… after something happened to me. I… I know the statistics about trans people. It's not uncommon for us to die at an early age, so I just wanted there to be something… I-I am blessed, to have the family I have. One that cares about me as much as you do. And I love you, and I love that! But… I know that… if something did happen to me, that'd make it even harder for you both, and I… well, I don't want it to end up like what happened after mom. I had a good life. Because I had both of you in it. I know I probably had a lot I still wanted to do, but… I don't have any regrets. I was loved, and happy. And I need you to _know_ that. So the last thing I want is for my life to bring sadness to you. It's… like how I am with mom. Don't be sad because I'm gone; celebrate the time we had together. That's what I want. That's all I've ever wanted. I know it hurts right now, but… things _will_ get better! Be glad that I was here, and… know that I love you. And that because I love you I only want you to be _happy._ Cherish and remember, yes, but also… forgive, and _move on._ Don't let me hold you back! Let me inspire you to get back on your feet!"

"I love you both. Please… do it for me?"


	9. The Witch: Chapter 9

Ruby Rose was on a roll.

Last night had been nice: no worries, no arguments, no warnings… just hanging out with her sister. Just like old times. On top of that, the message Yang had had her record seemed to return some life to their dad, according to Yang.

And, to top it all off, she'd _finally_ tracked down the Alpha Beowolf she'd spent the last month hunting. Unfortunately, its pack wasn't exactly small, and the large grain silo they'd made nest in was remarkably crowded when she started.

But… they were just Beowolves. The whole time she'd been a Reaper, they'd fallen to her scythe like wheat to a sickle. And, even if one _did_ manage to hit her, well, she was durable enough they'd need to land a _lot_ of hits for it to matter.

So, after cutting down about two thirds of the pack, when she saw an opening on the Alpha, she dove right in. It was a risky move, since it would almost certainly leave her open to a return attack from the Beowolf to its right, but… it couldn't hurt her _that_ bad.

Ruby committed. Brought her scythe back, and used her speed to boost a strike which could cut it from armpit to neck.

But, as she approached, she heard a rushed shout that replaced her boiling combat blood with ice water:

"On your left!"

Ruby's head snapped to follow her ears, only to see Yang sliding down the grain with a pair of spray bottles in her hands. Ruby attempted to abort, as Yang's safety was the priority, but she'd overcommitted, and her speed made it difficult for her to stop.

But, it did pull her attention away from making necessary corrections, and slow her down enough that the Alpha could begin to dodge, so the scythe pinged harmlessly off of its bony shoulder armor. Meanwhile, the Beowolf on her left recoiled away from her and howled, and its skin began to sizzle, burning under Yang's spray.

And it turned its attention away from her to pursue Yang.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted desperately, before a bladed truck tore into her side.

The blow from the Alpha sent Ruby skipping across the grain, splattering blood. She watched her severed arm skip a few feet in front of her, before fading to dust.

Yang, meanwhile, was desperately spraying the Beowolf that chose to pursue her, to no great effect. The angry sizzling on its skin didn't slow it one bit. As it got closer, Yang decided to switch tactics. She tossed one of the bottles into the air, then followed through with a strong uppercut to its chin, forcing its mouth to snap closed, and giving the creature pause.

Against most opponents, that would have put them down for the count.

Against a Demon, it just made it angry.

But, fortunately, Ruby's arm had finished regenerating.

She pushed herself off the ground as Yang caught her tossed spray bottle, ready to congratulate herself for pulling off such a show-offy attack. Her red-tinged eyes went wide as she realized the beast had already recovered and was lunging for the kill.

A burst of speed, and Ruby's enhanced Reaper strength meant _her_ punch was a little more effective, sending the Beowolf tumbling up the grain's slope until it collided with the metal wall. The noise this created was deafening as it echoed throughout the silo, and caused Ruby a great deal of pain.

Still, demons weren't so easy to kill. That's why Reapers had scythes.

Ruby threw hers in a horizontal spin towards the Beowolf, and the blade stuck the beast to the wall, before the demon began to dissolve into black smoke.

"Yang! Leave! Now!" Ruby shouted as she turned to face her sister.

"C'mon, Rubes, I was just trying to help!" Yang said as she stepped towards Ruby.

"Yang, no! Stop!" Ruby shouted.

But it was too late. Yang stepped just above the void in the grain Ruby had noticed (and dodged) with her soulsense, and in an instant, was sucked under.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, panicking.

She summoned her scythe back to her hand, catching it behind her back as she glanced up to the remainder of the pack. If she tried to help Yang, she would be vulnerable, and the demons would be able to land a _killing_ blow. It'd be oblivion for her, and Yang would suffocate anyway. She had _seconds_ to finish this in order to save her sister.

She was surprised to see the remainder of the pack fleeing; the Alpha had already left.

She chucked her scythe at the last of the fleeing Beowolves, knowing it would probably be gone before the scythe landed, and turned her attention to the indention where Yang had disappeared.

Drawing on one of her Soul Form powers, Ruby traced a Pull glyph into the air above Yang, then put every bit of magical energy she had into it. Unfortunately, that wasn't much. Unlike Blake, Ruby wasn't gifted with a great deal of magical potential.

Ruby's panic intensified as black smoke began to climb out of the grain where Yang had fallen in. Yang was slowly rising, but a fire had started in the grain around her. Probably because Yang had brought that stupid fire sprite she liked so much with her.

A hand emerged from the grain, and Ruby grabbed and pulled. Sure, it put her at risk of being trapped instead, but unlike Yang, she was already dead. _She_ would be fine. Yang wouldn't be.

Yang's head emerged, and she began coughing out grain and trying to suck in fresh air, only to pull in lungfuls of smoke. Ruby heaved with all of her might, and Yang popped free. Air flooded into the space she'd previously occupied, and the fresh oxygen allowed the grain to combust much more rapidly.

Ruby hoisted Yang over her shoulder, then used her speed to outrun the tumbling grain and growing blaze before it could suck her in. She raced towards the hatch the Beowolves had escaped from, navigating by soulsense through the thickening smoke. As they escaped, Yang began to greedily suck in mouthfuls of clean air, and Ruby slid down the ladder until they were on the ground. Another burst of speed carried them away from the silo, and into the treeline.

Ruby slid to a stop, dropped out of her Soul Form, and gently laid Yang on the ground. The older girl was hyperventilating, and Ruby knelt down to hold her head and help calm her. When Yang's eyes opened, they were red in both senses of the word.

There was a creaking groan as the metal silo warped and collapsed. The grain began to spill out, then suddenly the entire building was consumed by a massive fireball.

"Godsdammit, Yang." Ruby sighed as her sister's breathing returned to normal.

"We… we got em… right?" Yang gasped out.

"No, Yang! There is no 'we'!" Ruby said on the verge of a shout. "And… they got away."

"Oh." Yang said quietly, her own breathing almost drowning her words out.

"You almost died again." Ruby said quietly, her eyes prickling with tears. "I almost lost you."

"Well, I saved you too." Yang rasped, reaching up to weakly push against Ruby's shoulder.

"No, you really didn't."

"But that… that wolf monster would have hit you if… if I didn't…"

"I know." Ruby said. "I was expecting it. Planning on it. I'd have been _fine._ Instead, you distracted me, and I took a much worse hit."

"Oh." Yang closed her eyes, and let her arm flop down. "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."

"No, Yang!" Ruby began to raise her voice, and wiped at the tears streaming down her cheek. "There isn't going to _be_ a next time! You shouldn't have been here _this_ time! You ruined my mission, _and_ I had to save your life. Twice!"

"You wouldn't be saying that if my plan worked."

"Yes, I would!" Ruby frowned as she looked at the one spray bottle Yang had somehow managed to hold onto the entire time. It was full of some sort of clear liquid. "You didn't need to be here, and mixing up - what is that, acid? That's dangerous on its own!"

Yang chuckled softly, before being wracked by a coughing fit. It was a few agonizing seconds before she could talk again.

"Holy water, actually." Yang eventually said. "It's a lot safer for me."

Ruby sputtered indignantly in response.

"Where are you even getting holy water!? Are you _stealing_ it?"

"No… some churches… sell it. Make you promise... to use it for a good cause. I'd say… killing demons counts."

"Well, you aren't going to kill anything with that." Ruby grumbled. "Demons are pretty damned durable. Even if you dumped one in a vat of that stuff, it'd probably take hours to burn through their thick hides."

"Yeah… guess I figured that out. I'll keep that... in mind."

"This isn't something you can just 'figure out', Yang!" Ruby said. "You'll _die_ if you keep trying!"

"Ruby…" Yang reached out, grabbing one of Ruby's wrists. "I have to protect you… I promised mom that… I would."

"You _can't,_ Yang." Ruby said. It was cold, like the stinging wetness on her cheeks, but she needed to drive that point _home._ "You're not built to survive in the world I live in now. I don't care _how_ good you think you are. You can't compete. So _stop trying._ You don't have to. You can live your life! And it'll be fine. _I'll_ be fine! I'm the one who has to protect you, now. Don't make it harder on me. Don't make me regret staying in contact with you."

"That's… not fair."

"Nothing ever is, Yang." Ruby sighed, and began picking at the charred edges of a hole in Yang's T-shirt. Good thing she hadn't worn anything polyester today. "And now you're going to need to find a way to explain to dad why you're covered in burns."

Yang's brow knitted up in confusion.

"I'm… not burned." She insisted.

"Oh really?" Ruby pressed. "I pull you out of a literal burning pile of grain and you're not burned, huh? Then I guess it won't hurt if I do… this!"

Ruby jabbed her finger through the hole, poking at Yang's surely burnt skin. Skin that… didn't really feel any different than normal.

"No?" Yang said, propping herself up to get a look at what Ruby was doing.

Confused, Ruby stuck in another finger and spread the hole open. Underneath was pink, perfectly unmarred skin.

"Bullshit." Ruby swore under her breath.

"I told you… Wick doesn't burn me."

"That's not how this works!" Ruby insisted. "That's not how _any_ of this works! It's not even that stupid little thing's fire that's the problem! The grain itself was burning! He wouldn't have any control over that!"

Yang shrugged.

"Well, he doesn't. And it didn't." Her breaths were starting to even out, and return to normal. "That was actually his plan… since he doesn't burn me, he was trying to burn away the grain so I could escape. Didn't really account for the smoke, though."

"Yang." Ruby said flatly. "That was a monumentally stupid plan. Even if you didn't have to worry about the fire, you'd just be trapped under ash instead, and you'd still choke on the smoke. Not to mention, the building _freaking exploded!_"

"It wasn't _my_ plan." Yang said, rolling her eyes.

Ruby groaned, and flopped back away from Yang.

"Look, the point is, fire is super dangerous! You should know that by now, Yang! So's going into a grain silo! _And picking fights with demons you aren't even capable of hurting!_"

"Point taken." Yang groaned. "I'll be more careful."

"Yeah, by not being involved in this!" Ruby said. "Now, if you're not covered in burns or anything, and you're capable of moving on your own, you need to go back home, and let me get back to my job!"

"But-"

"Go _home,_ Yang!"


	10. The Witch: Chapter 10

"So… I guess I just feel kinda useless now. I… couldn't protect her, and I lost her. And now that I have _some_ energy, I'm realizing that… my whole life was organized around supporting her and protecting her, y'know? And if I can't, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Yang Xiao Long tore her gaze from the ceiling to look across the tiny room, to her therapist, waiting for a response. Between the couch she was on on one side, and the desk on the other, the room was extremely cramped. Hardly big enough to be a good walk-in closet.

"Well, I'm sure it'll be easier when you have things to take your mind off of it, right?" Her therapist said. "You said you'd be going back to work next week. That'll be a good outlet for your energy. Picking up a hobby might also help. It's a big change in your life, so no one's expecting you to get it figured out all right away."

"Well, I've found something, but if I push it too far, it could get me in trouble, so I shouldn't use it as a focus for all my energy." Yang sighed, glancing at the calming landscapes framed along the walls. "I guess work will be… something. But it's not like I was ever excited about it before. I'm actually surprised they're _letting_ me come back."

"Well, from what you've told me, Mr. Port sounds like a good man, and he's been very understanding of your situation. And it sounds like he thinks very highly of you, if you've been his employee of the month four times now."

"Pfft." Yang rolled over onto her side to face her therapist. She'd always wished the couch had been a lounge, like the TV Therapists had, but there was nothing stopping her from _using_ the couch like one. "It's not because I'm _good_ at my job. It's just that all my coworkers really _suck_ at it."

"Well, isn't that how you define being good at something?" Her therapist pressed. "Being better than your peers at it? Many people worry about not being good enough at their jobs, but they usually don't give themselves enough credit. You in particular."

"It's just basic customer service." Yang groaned. "Anybody should be able to do it."

"And yet, most people _can't._ It might not be what you intend to make a career out of, but it's a skill nonetheless, and one you definitely have."

"I guess." Yang rolled her eyes."I'll just throw that in the box with everything else I'm good at that hasn't done me any good."

"It's done you _some_ good if you have a job out of it. One you've received awards for. Gets you a paycheck, and something to do."

"That's… okay, yeah, you're right." Yang watched her therapist crack a slight smile and briefly glance up over her half-frame glasses, eyes glinting like gold. Had her eyes always been so _bright?_ "It's just… it's not really what I _want_ to do."

"What about this new hobby you mentioned?" Her therapist asked. "Is _that_ something you want to do?"

"More than anything." Yang felt slip out before she could stop herself. "I-I mean, right now, it's new, and exciting. So of course I want to do that, right? Any reasonable person would!"

"No need to get defensive, Yang. It's good to have something new and exciting in your life. I'm happy for you. If you don't mind me asking… what exactly is it?"

Yang did, in fact, very much mind the question. She'd already let too much slip as-is.

"I'd… rather not say." Yang flopped back onto her back, and returned her gaze to the ceiling.

"Remember that everything you say here is confidential. I can't share it with anyone. And I can't help you with things if you don't tell me about them."

If had been anything other than what Ruby had sworn her to secrecy on, Yang would have absolutely told her, but there was no way she could betray her sister.

So Yang remained silent.

"Well, maybe we don't have to get into what it is _exactly._" Her therapist said, attempting a compromise. "Maybe we can stick to general advice. Is it dangerous?"

Yang couldn't bring herself to deny this. It _had_ nearly gotten her killed.

"Yeah… I guess." She said. "But that's… maybe it's part of why I enjoy it. For the thrill."

"You don't see this as some sort of escape, right?" Her therapist asked. "I know you said you weren't religious, but… just to make sure, you're not justifying it by viewing a potential death as a way to see your sister again, correct?"

It was, in fact, literally the opposite. If she died, Yang _wouldn't_ be able to see Ruby for a very long time. Before she _knew_ about the afterlife, she might have treated it as a 50:50 chance, but now?

"No, I'm not suicidal or anything. I _want_ to live, and I know Ruby would want me to, too."

"Mmm… I didn't think so. Now, does this have anything to do with your kidnapper?"

"No!" Yang snapped, turning to face her therapist once more.

"It was just a question. I believe you Yang. Just breathe." Her therapist said evenly. Her eyes must have turned red again. "Do your father or uncle know about this?"

"No…" Yang said quietly, working to calm herself. "And they really _can't_ know about it, either."

"Worried about their reactions?"

"Among other things, I guess." Yang sighed.

"Well, obviously, you need to make sure you're doing it as safely as you reasonably can, but I don't think I really _need_ to tell you that. As long as it makes you happy, and isn't hurting people, you should feel free to express yourself. It… doesn't hurt other people, does it?"

"Of course not!" Yang insisted. "I would never!"

"Well, I don't see any problem with it, then. Just… stay safe. You're one of those people you shouldn't be hurting, you know." There was another hint of a smile from her therapist.

"Yeah… people I shouldn't be hurting…" Yang returned her gaze skyward. "I… got into a fight with my dad the other day. Said some things that I _knew_ would be hurtful, and that I _shouldn't,_ but… they weren't exactly _wrong._"

"You should be allowed to express your feelings, of course, but it probably would have helped if you had waited until speaking with someone else about them, like me. Did… something happen to set you off?"

"No…" Yang sighed. "I think… it's just kinda what had been building up over the last few months. Last few years, even. Before, it would have taken too much effort to actually say anything, but now…"

"It'll probably take some time for you to get through all those built up feelings." Her therapist said. "And that's okay. I'm here to help you work through it, and you've got support at home, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Are… you worried that your father doesn't want to support you?"

"No! I mean, he absolutely does, but…" Yang bit her lip briefly. "He's… not always good at it. And I can't… I've never been able to rely on it."

"Well, his trying does mean something, right. He does care about you, and I don't think anything he's doing is _trying_ to hurt you. So it's okay to at least accept the support he can give you."

"I guess…" Yang said glumly, still feeling guilty about her conversation with Uncle Qrow the other day.

Her therapist briefly glanced down to her wristwatch, then back up to Yang.

"I must say, this has probably been the most eventful week you've had since we started these sessions, considering how much time we've spent on recent events. Would you say taking that walk did you some good?"

Yang bit the inside of her cheek as she prepared the lie she'd rehearsed.

"I mean, it wasn't bad, but… on the same day, I found something, going through Ruby's old stuff on her computer. She uh… she had a recording, in case she died, and… hearing her, listening to her asking me to be strong, well… I think that helped a lot."

"I'm surprised you didn't lead with that." Her therapist said, writing something down. "I'm also surprised your sister had the foresight to leave something like that… most teenage girls wouldn't consider it. I suppose you're lucky, in a way."

"Ruby isn't… _wasn't_ like most teenage girls. And I guess… I'm lucky for every single moment I had with her."

Yang tried to remain outwardly unflappable, but inside, she was panicking over her slipup. She closed her eyes to hide the red that was almost certainly forming on them. _This_ was why she didn't lead with it, why she hoped it didn't really come up during the session. Her therapist would catch on, then pick her denials apart, then pry the truth out of her. Yang would end up accidentally betraying Ruby and it would be just like with Raven all over again and-

"I suppose you are." Was all her therapist said in response, voice just a hair happier sounding than usual. "Well, it's great that you have something. Knowing that, even now, Ruby still supports you must be nice."

Yang let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and opened her eyes.

"Yeah. It is. It really is."

"Well, that's a good note to leave off on, I suppose, since we're about out of time for today. Let's try to keep some of that positivity moving forward, okay? Is the same time next week still good for you?"

Yang shot a glance to the time displayed on the computer behind her therapist, and noticed that they had, in fact, gone overtime. By about five minutes. Perhaps she'd been saved by the bell?

"Yeah, that should work for me. I'll let you know if my work schedule or anything starts interfering."

"Sounds good, Yang. I'll see you next Friday then."

"Yup, see you then!"

Yang took one glance back as she stepped out of the room. Yup, her therapist's eyes were still that unusual golden color. As she walked down the hall, she tried to think back to what color she thought her eyes were before… hazel, probably? Maybe with a yellow tinge but certainly nothing out of the ordinary and certainly not _gold._ Especially with the way her contrasting black hair framed her face, Yang felt like that would have been one of the first things she noticed. And those eyes had been so _bright,_ almost like… well, almost like Ruby's had become.

Ah well, that was a problem for another time. Maybe she could ask Ruby about it? Her thoughts turned to other matters as she stepped through the door labeled "Phoenix Therapy Group: Dr. Fall and Associates" and began her leisurely walk home.

Heck, she had her therapist's (indirect) approval; when she got back, she could resummon Wick, break out her sewing kit, and get started on her next project. Ruby _did_ say she wanted Yang to be happy, right?


	11. The Witch: Chapter 11

Some would consider it luck that the Alpha Beowolf Ruby Rose had been hunting left such an obvious trail: it had only taken her three days to track down the demon's new nest.

Ruby, herself, would not be among them. Not when faced with the victims that trail was made of.

Five dead.

Five souls in the afterlife.

Five lives left unlived.

Five families mourning.

Five reminders of Ruby's failure.

She would _not_ allow the Alpha to escape again.

Ruby stepped into the otherwise abandoned barn, slid the door back shut, and immediately traced out a series of glyphs to hold it shut: link, pull, link, enchant. She channeled some power into it just as the first pair of Beowolves - the regular sort - fell upon her. Satisfied her spell would hold up against a short assault, at least, Ruby ducked the blows in a burst of speed and rose petals, then turned to face the rest of the pack.

Four more Beowolves surrounded the Alpha, but they weren't her real concern. The Alpha gave the pack direction, gave them purpose, made them smart. Made them _dangerous._ Without the Alpha, the remnants of the pack would not risk nearly so high profile of attacks as they had over the last three days, nor would they be nearly as good at covering their tracks.

So, as her scythe materialized into her left hand, Ruby only _really_ had one target.

She burst forward, hood up, and murder in her silver eyes. Her soulsense gave her a good idea as to just how _terrifying_ it would be to witness her work, and, for a moment, she allowed herself to revel in her own power.

Then, she was upon the Alpha, and she needed every ounce of focus she had.

Her first strike was a slash aimed across the Alpha's chest. Somehow, she caught the beast by surprise, and the blade sparked as it tore a line through bone armor, leaving a shallow, if impressive looking gash.

Unfortunately, she was struck simultaneously from both sides in response. Beowolf claws tore through her cloak, leaving bloody wounds on her left shoulder and right upper arm.

But, like the damage to the Alpha, this was largely superficial.

Ruby twirled her her scythe, smacking one of the Beowolves with the shaft, and sending it tumbling through the mixture of mud and straw that made up the floor. The other Beowolf wasn't quite so lucky, as she drove the spear-like butt of the scythe through its gaping maw and out of the back of its head.

The creature clawed at the polearm briefly before going limp and dissolving into black smoke.

Only five left.

And the Alpha, of course.

It wasn't willing to let Ruby ignore it, and it launched its counterattack with a powerful upward slash. Not quite enough time to dodge, Ruby met the claws with the haft of her scythe.

Fortunately, this kept their razor-sharp edges from further tearing her up.

_Un_fortunately, it was an extremely heavy blow, and even with her Soul Form enhancements to strength and inertia, she was still sent rocketing up towards the barn's ceiling.

Ruby rotated in midair, and angled herself to impact feet-first on one of the sturdy support beams holding the roof together, which groaned in protest at the impact. She took a quick glance to the loft to make sure she wasn't missing any hidden Beowolves in the barn, then pushed off, sending herself rocketing down to the Alpha, with the wicked point of her scythe rotating forward to lead the way.

Just as she crossed below the level of the loft, the loft door swung open.

Of course, she had a bigger problem: the Alpha leapt back, narrowly avoiding her strike.

As the blade planted into the ground, Ruby coiled up against it, like a spring absorbing the impact, then allowed her momentum to rotate her slightly before explosively uncoiling to land a powerful double kick into the Alpha's face.

The demon stumbled back, dazed from the attack, and Ruby finally landed on the ground. Planting her feet, she shifted her rolling momentum into her Scythe, yanking it free then bringing it down in a powerful overhead blow, finally stopping in a crouch as the scythe hit the ground in front of her.

The new cut that crisscrossed the first on the Alpha's chest was _much_ deeper.

But the demon still wasn't dead.

Pressing her advantage, Ruby launched back up to her feet, attacking the Alpha with a flurry of jabs, most of which did little more than force the beast back.

There was a thud as something landed a good distance off to her side. A flash of yellow in her periphery, then the barn was lit up by an intense, if short-lived flash of heat and light.

Ruby could only spare a glance to her sister, knowing better than to let herself get distracted again. Two of the Beowolves were down, howling as they burned.

Yang didn't need saving _quite_ yet. There was another bright flash as Ruby turned her attention back to the Alpha, following up her flurry with a horizontal strike as the beast found itself backed against the wall, creating a third line across its armor and finally chipping a chunk of it free.

With speed and precision, Ruby drove her scythe into the gap, through its back, and finally into one of the thick studs in the wall behind it, pinning the demon in place.

The Alpha would die in a few seconds, so long as she left her scythe in place.

Mission (mostly) accomplished.

Secondary mission: saving her boneheaded sister: engaged.

As Ruby raced over to Yang, she tried not to be impressed that there were only two Beowolves remaining, Yang seemed to be having a harder time with them, judging by the fact that her outstretched palms seemed to have no effect, and unfortunately, as is wont to happen when you fight with fire, the barn was beginning to burn.

Ruby tackled the nearest Beowolf with a frustrated sigh. Yang would have to hold the other off until she could kill this one. Claws tore into her back as she grabbed at the beast's neck. Her fingers found purchase on its lower jaw, which was close enough for what she needed to do.

With a powerful twist, Ruby snapped the Beowolf's neck, claws falling limp against her back before dissolving into black smoke.

As Ruby turned to face the other one, she saw her sister attempting the same move that had previously only briefly stunned a Beowolf: an uppercut to the jaw. This time, however, metal glinted in her fist, and, to Ruby's surprise, pierced the demon's tough neck hide and fur like butter.

The final Beowolf died, and as the black smoke cleared, Ruby found Yang holding an unfortunately familiar dagger.

"I was pretty useful this time, don'tcha think, sis?" Yang said as she twirled the dagger between her fingers by its blade, eyes red with adrenaline.

"Yang! You set the barn on fire!" Ruby cried, her voice pitching in anger.

"Oh! Right!" Yang said, before aiming the backs of her hands at the spreading flames. A pair of spells lit up Ruby's soulsense as the flames flowed into the back of Yang's hands, before finally snuffing themselves out. "See! I already thought of that!"

"Yang…" This time it came out pained, hurt instead of angry. "I thought you were going to stay safe. I had this under control. I didn't _need_ you."

Yang visibly flinched at that.

"I was just trying to… no, I _was_ being helpful!" Yang insisted. "Even if you can just magically heal from it, _those_ must have been painful." Yang gestured to the bloody tears in Ruby's cloak and suit. "And… you don't need more of that. I don't like seeing you in pain."

"Yeah, well, what about _you,_ Yang? I don't like seeing _you_ in pain. Or in danger!" Ruby shot back. "Or _anyone_ for that matter! I told you you need to go _live your life!_"

"Yeah, well, my therapist said that living my life means I should do what makes me happy!" Yang countered. "Just as long as I keep the danger under control. And I _have._ I _got better._"

"_This_ makes you happy, Yang? Really?" Ruby's voice began to raise again. "Because it's not a godsdamned game! Do you know what that Alpha did after I was forced to let it escape to save your life?" Ruby gestured with her thumb towards her now clean Scythe embedded into the barn wall, and stepped in closer to Yang. "_It_ was having fun. _It_ was having the time of its life! _Five_ people died, Yang!" Ruby punctuated each of the last few words with a finger jab into Yang's sternum. "Because I couldn't do my _job._ That definitely makes _me_ happy!"

"Ruby, I'm sorry…" Yang said softly, glancing down.

"Don't be _sorry,_ Yang." Ruby said, matching her sister's tone, and placing her hands on Yang's. "Be safe. I need you."

Yang pulled back, and turned away.

"Do you need me, or don't you? I'm getting mixed messages here."

"Yang… I didn't…" Ruby sighed, dismissing her Soul Form in a wave of rose petals "I love you. If you die… I can't lose you, okay?"

"I couldn't lose you either." Yang sniffled, and wiped at her face with the back of one of her fingerless gloves. "But… you came back. And now, I… I used to think I was cursed. That she… molded me into this _thing_ that I'd only be able to do bad things with… but now, I can do some good with it. I can use it to help my sister, instead of the evil shit _she_ wanted me to do." Yang looked back to Ruby, eyes watery and violet once more. "So yeah, having a _purpose_ for all the shit I went through does make me happier. Y'think I'm gonna just give that up?"

"Yang…" Ruby stepped up to her again, and this time Yang didn't pull away. "Is… is that… her dagger? I thought you got rid of it."

"I… wanted to." Yang said, rolling it in her hand before returning it to its sheathe. "But… it was created to be something to poison. A weapon. To tear things apart. Just like me. And… I couldn't. And now? Just like me? It can do some good! It was designed for poison, yeah, but it turns out it works _great_ against demons if you use holy water instead."

"And you just… expected that to work?"

"Well, uh… not really." Yang sighed. "It was my fallback option. I'm… still not sure why the fire stopped working."

Ruby grabbed Yang's hands, turning her palms up to inspect the gloves. There was a finger-sized hole near the middle of each, carving out the charred remains of a stack of glyphs. The outermost one - probably a spin - was still mostly intact, but the Yellow thread revealed frayed, blackened ends. Surrounding these, far enough out to be a separate spell, were undamaged wind glyphs.

Somehow, Yang's palms underneath remained stubbornly unburned. Ruby poked one to be sure.

"I don't understand." Yang said.

"Fire burns stuff, Yang. I'm still not sure how _you're_ not a part of that."

"No, I mean, I tested them! They worked fine! Leather's fire resistant and-"

"_Resistant,_ Yang. Not fire_proof._ You didn't test them with bigger flames."

"Well, no, but I didn't want to set off the fire alarm or anything. Plus, they worked to get me up to the loft door! And… for the first few blasts..."

"Yeaaaah… making a little candle flame and burninating a demon to death are completely different categories." Ruby sighed. "Seriously, you should be, like, covered in burns. Like you were supposed to be last time. A fire sprite doesn't explain this."

"I don't know what to tell you, Rubes. Maybe I would have been if it had gone on longer. Dang… these were expensive. I'll need to find something tougher for-"

"Yang…" Ruby softly interrupted, curling her sister's fingers over her palms. "No. Please, no… You're not even supposed to _know_ about this stuff. Just… let me handle my job."

"I worry about you, you know. Every time you go out?" Yang sighed. "I can't just rest knowing that you're getting involved in all this stuff; that I might _lose_ you again, and if I'm not able to do anything about it..."

"Yang… I'll be fine." Ruby groaned. "I've already died. Something kills me again? Poof, I just come back again." It wasn't a complete lie. "That's why they have us Reapers doing it. _You're_ still alive, and… I need you to stay that way, okay? The whole _reason_ I came back was to make sure you'd be safe. If my coming back does the opposite… maybe I should have stayed in the afterlife."

Ruby found herself suddenly crushed in a massive hug.

"Don't say that, Ruby. I love you… and… this has given me meaning again. If you hadn't come back? Well… I wouldn't be functional, that's for sure. I'm… trying to do better, okay. This… this is me doing better."

Ruby let out a long, slow sigh.

"Alright, we'll talk… but you have to promise to stop sneaking around and following me on my missions. That's… probably the most dangerous way you can do… any of this."

"Alright… fine…" Yang offered her pinky. "I promise."

Ruby linked it with her pinky, and they shook on it.


	12. The Witch: Chapter 12

0+-+-+-+0

"I can't believe you really work _here,_ Yang!" Ruby giggled as she darted up and down the aisles, throwing in some extra spin to twirl her skirt at every corner. "It's like, a monument to everything I've rejected!"

Yang Xiao Long smiled, her sister's energy was infectious.

She was… still getting used to the sister bit, but dammit if she wasn't going to be supportive!

"Some people really like this macho stuff, Rubes." Yang replied easily. "Just because it's not for you doesn't mean _someone_ won't buy it. Take Cardin over here, for instance."

"So you've noticed!" Cardin said with a grin that was far too wide, before flexing in what was… probably what he assumed to be casual manner. "Y'know, your little sister's a cute kid-"

"I'm _seventeen!_" Ruby interrupted indignantly, demonstrating the doppler effect as she continued to move.

"-But you know what I'm thinkin'?" Cardin continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. "You and me? We'd make beautiful babies together. Eh? _Eh?!_"

"Oh _god_ no, Cardin." Yang pinched the bridge of her nose as she hopped off her seat on the edge of the checkout counter. "Look, I'm flattered and all, but trust me, I'm not into…" Yang gestured vaguely in Cardin's direction. "...whatever all this is."

"What are you, _gay?_" Cardin balked.

"No, just not into assholes." Yang shrugged. "You might think you're hot shit, Cardin, but when I find a real man? I'll let you know."

"Hey!" Cardin said indignantly. "I _am_ a real man! And I can prove it!"

"Oh yeah?" Yang smiled predatorily. "And how are you going to do that? You gonna fight me?"

"If that's what it takes, yes!" Cardin lifted his arms in an imitation of a boxer's stance.

It was clear he hadn't ever actually been in a real fight. His form was sloppy. Even ignoring the poor job he was doing of protecting his face, he was off balance, like he had no idea what to do with his feet.

This was going to be _easy._

"Alright, then." Yang left her arms down, feigning a dropped guard, knowing he'd underestimate her. "Come at me. Betcha can't even land _one_ hit."

"Why you little-!" Cardin charged forward recklessly. This was going to be a curbstomp.

"Woah woah woah! Hey!" Ruby shouted as she dashed in between them, stopping the fight before it began. "Yang! Don't get yourself fired on your first day on the job! And Cardin? No offense, but Yang's, like, one of the best fighters in the city. Attacking her's just gonna get you hurt!... Not that that makes you any less of a man. If you had to beat Yang in a fight to be a man, there'd only be, like, five men in Vale. Tops."

"I don't think I'd get fired from the machismo store for being the most macho person here." Yang leaned back onto the counter. "Even if I am a woman, I'm more manly than anyone else here."

She'd considered singling out Cardin for that last dig, but even if she was wildly overestimating her, Ruby was right: she could really hurt him. And she wasn't supposed to do that.

Even if it would be _extremely_ cathartic.

Cardin still tried to respond, but he was interrupted by Ruby stepping in to correct his stance, and teach him how to throw a proper punch.

Yang shook her head as she watched Ruby help someone who would almost certainly be bullying her if he had any idea what her past was like. It was weird to see Ruby so comfortable around people. She'd hardly ever made friends before, but now? It was like she was making up for lost time.

And hey… maybe Ruby could actually convince some of them to be better people. If nothing else, she was a good influence.

She was so much happier being treated as a woman; being seen as _herself._ Yang only wished she had realized it sooner.

0+-+-+-+0

"Good to see you back, Yang."

"Good to see you, too, Jelodiah." Yang smiled as she waved to the customer she'd just finished checking out. "Have a nice day!"

The smile was, unfortunately, a bit plastered on. Yang was having one of her "down" days. Couldn't she just stop having those now that Ruby was back in her life? The thing that had made her depressed in the first place had been resolved! Why couldn't she just… be normal again?

"Man, what kind of name is 'Jelodiah', anyway?" Cardin popped his head out from between shelves to say as soon as the customer left. "I'd hate to have parents like _that._"

"Don't make fun of Jelo, Cardin!" Yang chastised. "He's a good customer and a good person!" Then, she added under her breath: "Unlike _some_ people here."

"What was that, Yang?" Cardin asked.

"I said, go stock and stop bothering my customers." Yang dismissed. Anything to get Cardin's attention off of her. Yang really didn't get along with many of her coworkers. Especially not on a day like _today._

"Hey! Maybe I'm not great with the customers, but I'm _damn_ good at my job." Cardin insisted. "Shelves are all stocked, faced, and inventoried. Plus… there aren't any customers here right now anyway."

Yang groaned.

"Sky's here, isn't he? Why don't you go hang out with him?"

"Because I want to talk with you." Cardin insisted. "It's been a while, and I have a few questions."

Yang let out a long, obviously exasperated sigh in response, trying to express how much she _did not want him here._ She'd hoped she'd shot him down hard enough the last few times that he'd stop trying. It was _hard_ to be the only girl working at a machismo themed general store.

Heck, even the boss had hit on her once. The mere memory still made her shudder.

"So, there was this kid who used to follow you around here sometimes." Cardin began, leaning on the end of the aisle, and apparently not dissuaded by her obvious dislike of him.

"Yes. My _sister._ Who _died._ Which is why I wasn't here." Yang growled, trying to shut this down before it went anywhere.

"Right, right. That's what I thought." Cardin continued. "But a little birdie told me something interesting. Said it was actually your _brother._"

"No." Yang said, trying to keep her voice even while gripping the edge of the counter hard enough to make it creak. "That was my sister. Your 'little birdie' was lying to you."

"Well, see, that was my reaction at first, too. Like… what kinda self-respecting dude would want to look like _that?_ Like Mr. Port says, you gotta be as manly as possible." Cardin flexed, and wiggled the beginnings of what was supposed to be mustache on his upper lip. Even if it hadn't been infuriating, it wouldn't have impressed anybody. "So I'm like, naw, man. That's gotta be a chick. But then he whips out a yearbook and points out a 'Ryan Xiao Long' and it's like, dude, he's been fooling us this whole time? Woah."

Yang gritted her teeth and looked down, focusing on her breathing and trying to stay calm.

She'd promised Ruby she wouldn't beat people up.

She'd _promised._

"So, then, I'm like, what kind of freak does that, y'know? Pretends to be a girl? He's gotta have a bunch of things wrong with him right?" Cardin kept running his mouth. "Then Sky's all like 'well, I dunno, you'd have to talk to Yang' but this was, like, a month ago, so I started looking it up, right? And I read all this weird stuff about trannys-"

"Shut the _fuck_ up, Cardin." Yang shouted, focusing her gaze down, trying to keep the murder in her eyes from finding its target.

"Don't get your panties in a wad, sheesh!" Cardin said dismissively. "I'm just asking questions here. What, are you one of them, too?"

Yang promised…

...but… she couldn't take it anymore.

Cardin visibly flinched as Yang's eyes snapped up. Without breaking eye contact, she vaulted over the checkout counter, and began stalking towards him.

"Call me a man all you want, Cardin. Hell, call me _sir._ Even as a woman, I'm twice the man you'll ever be. But don't you _dare_ talk shit about my _sister._"

"What? It's biological fact!" Cardin insisted as he was backed into the shelves. "You can't change what you're born with! That's just how it works! Don't blame me, blame science!"

"Where you even paying attention in that _ridiculously_ simplified middle school level biology class you barely passed?" Yang continued to stalk closer. "Yeah, I bet you weren't. But hey, they've got to keep it dumbed down to teach it to knuckleheads like you. But, y'know, there are degree programs for that kind of thing. And guess what? The people whose _job_ it is to know these things won't agree with you. I bet you don't even know about intersex people."

"Inter-_what_ now?" Cardin asked.

"Yeah. Exactly. So don't pretend like you've got a _damn_ clue what you're talking about. My sister was _always_ my sister. Even if it took us a while to figure that out. So you best start treating her with respect again."

"But… but…" Cardin floundered as he tried to continue. "He's got a _dick!_ You can't-"

Yang slammed her fist into the shelf beside Cardin, the loud noise causing him to jump.

"Do I _look_ like the kind of older sister who's okay with random assholes talking about her sister's genitals?! That's none of your goddamn business! And even if it was, it wouldn't matter! She's still a girl!"

"Yang-"

"And that's the other thing that pisses me off! You've only ever even _known_ Ruby to look like a girl. Only ever been told she was a girl! It's what you _started out_ knowing!"

"Yang-"

"No one asked you to change _shit._ It's not like you had to get used to something new. But no, _you_ had to be the incredible sort of asshole that changes _entirely_ out of spite! To try to hurt other people! Even after she was so nice to you! What kind of chicken shit-"

"Yang! Is your hair on fire?!"

"Unbelievable. You're not even _listening_ to me!" Yang let out a long, groaning exhale, and briefly considered breaking Cardin's nose, but… she'd promised Ruby.

...And she kind of needed the disposable income from this job.

"Look, I'll keep it _real_ simple for you. Ruby is my _sister._ You will refer to her by her name, using her correct pronouns - which are she and her if you _still_ haven't gotten that through your thick skull - or you will not refer to her at _all._ And if you can't do that? I'll castrate you, and let _you_ figure out if you still think you're a man or not."

Cardin audibly gulped, and Yang turned away, walking back towards the counter, and letting some of the fire within her fade into angry embers.

"Anyone who wants to be a girl _can be,_ Cardin." Yang said. "Even if they're as big an asshole as you are. Hell, if you wanted to be one? I'd _help_ you."

"In my defense," Sky squeaked out from around the corner of a different aisle, "I only told Cardin that Ruby _used_ to be a boy."

Yang pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You're still wrong, even if it's not to the same level as knucklehead over there. And you're still an asshole for spreading someone else's private business around."

"Right, sorry!" Sky beat a hasty retreat back into his aisle.

"Okay, but…" Cardin rubbed the back of his neck. "What bathroom is… uh… _she_ supposed to use?"

"The girl's, duh." Yang said, grabbing one of the magazines off the rack to look at instead of Cardin. It was certainly better to look at the abs of a sexy underwear model than at _that_ jerkface_._

"But… what if something _happened?_ What then?"

"What if _what_ happened, Cardin. Are you unaware of what people do in a bathroom?"

"No, I mean… what if she, like, you know! To a girl!"

"Pretty sure I don't know, Cardin."

"Like…" Cardin leaned forward, whispering conspiratorially, "_assaulted_ someone?"

Yang sighed, set the magazine down, then leveled a _look_ at Cardin.

"Cardin, are you accusing my sister of being a rapist?"

"What, no no no!" Cardin leaned back, waving his hands frantically. "I'm not saying that at all! I'm just saying…"

"What? Do _you_ have trouble with not assaulting people every time you go into the bathroom?"

"Ew! No! Of course not! That's gross."

"Well, there's your answer." Yang said, turning her attention back to the magazine.

"But _I'm_ not gay or anything!" Cardin waved his hands like he was desperately trying to make a point.

"First off, that's a completely different thing. Gender and sexuality are not the same thing. Second, gay people don't assault people in bathrooms either. People are just there to do their business and get out."

"So, what, you'd just get rid of the signs, and any semblance of order?" Cardin pressed. "What would we have then? I bet you wouldn't want to use a bathroom with _guys!_"

"I wouldn't want to have _anybody_ watch me do my business. That's why there's _stalls._ I mean, I don't really want to wash my hands next to someone like you but it's not _that_ big of a deal, and none of the rest of it matters."

"But what about _urinals?_" Cardin smiled smugly, like he just made some big point.

"Get rid of 'em." Yang shrugged.

"What?" Cardin balked.

"If they're an issue, get rid of 'em. Or don't. I don't really care. I ain't gonna use 'em."

"That's not… you can't just…"

"Would be nice to have room for a few more stalls, though."

Cardin seemed a bit stumped, which gave her a few moments of wonderful, glorious silence. As calm as she was trying to be during this conversation, it was all she could do to not explode on him again. The silence made it much easier to stay calm.

Unfortunately, it didn't last.

"But what about _sports!_" Cardin declared triumphantly. "She'd have an unfair advantage!"

Yang groaned before responding.

"She really wouldn't. She'd honestly probably have less testosterone than the average woman, so…" Yang trailed off, finishing with a shrug in lieu of actually completing the thought.

"Okay, but-" Cardin began.

"Could you stop trying to talk to me about my _dead_ sister for _five fucking seconds,_ Cardin? Gods. Show a little tact."

Cardin sputtered for a bit, as though he were trying to come up with a suitable response, before he threw out a groan of frustration, and his heavy footfalls drew away from the front of the store.

Yang glanced up at the clock. She'd been there for an hour, but it felt more like _days._

The next three were _not_ going to be fun.

At least she had Wick to keep her company.


	13. The Witch: Chapter 13

Hearing was the first sense to return.

It wasn't particularly useful, since all that could be heard was the occasional groan of metal in the wind.

Feeling was next, and with it, Ruby Rose's world became a dull, throbbing ache. She attempted to flex, to move, to feel out her environment.

Her wrists and ankles tugged against unyielding binds, and her left shin exploded into a much sharper pain, forcing her to cease her attempts as a quiet whimper escaped her lips.

The temptation to shift into Soul Form was immediate. Doing so would heal whatever wounds she had in just a few seconds, and probably give her the strength to pull herself free of whatever was trapping her.

But Blake had taught her better than to do so blindly.

In her discombobulated state, it took some effort to reach out and connect with her soulsense, but once she grasped it, she was given a clearer view of the scene.

Soulsense was always muddy when used within a normal human-ish body, but it was more than enough for her to take stock of the situation: Her left shin was broken. Her body was covered in bruises, and two of her ribs were cracked. Her arms and legs were bound by four thick ropes connected to… something heavy, which suspended her about three feet off the ground.

And sitting just inches above her chest was a massive crossbow, ready to pierce her heart at a moment's notice.

Soul Form would be a _really_ bad idea at the moment. Probably the last one she'd ever have, had she given into the urge.

Soul Form had two major disadvantages: the first was that, if you had any injuries, those would have to be healed _before_ you'd be granted access to your super strength, durability, or other special abilities. Even with the most grievous of wounds, that would only take seconds, but seconds could be an eternity in a fight, which brought up the second, and far more important disadvantage:

If you actually _died_ in Soul Form, including during that initial transformation, there would be no coming back. Spreading your soul across your entire vessel made you powerful, yes, but it also made it possible for your soul itself to die.

So it was far better, in a situation like this one, to allow your kidnapper to kill you outside of it. Yes, regenerating from death was inconvenient, and dying hurt like the dickens, but it was something you could _come back from._

In other words? Ruby needed to taunt her assailant into killing her, and moving on. Lovely.

A loose plan in mind, Ruby opened her eyes.

And she saw…

...nothing. Vision still hadn't returned.

"Oh. Good. You're awake." Said a feminine voice with a light german accent.

"Thash… debashable." Ruby slurred. Her fine motor skills had not yet returned.

"Shoot, I may have overdid it with the diazepam." The voice sounded… worried? Why would someone trying to _kill_ her kill her be _worried?_

Ruby blinked, her vision starting to come back with a heavy layer of fuzz. Wherever she was was… bright? Last thing she remembered, the sun had set, and she was headed to the park to meet up with Yang.

_Yang…_

Her older sister would be _very_ worried.

She experimentally wiggled her jaw, and swallowed against her sore, dry throat.

"Worried… about killing me?" Ruby forced out with some effort. "I can take… some abuse."

"Oh trust me. I _noticed._" Angry. Accusatory. A clack of heels on a hard surface approached her, and Ruby turned her head towards the sound, squinting in an attempt to focus.

White hair. White clothes. A single dot of blue peering out from the mass.

A Schnee.

_Weiss_ Schnee.

The mysterious younger daughter… occasionally seen with her older sister before this, but prior to this point, never alone.

Unless Winter was the sloppier of the two - and she _wasn't_ \- this could very well be Weiss's _first_ solo mission.

Of course, it was Ruby's first time being kidnapped, so… who's inexperience would lose out in the end?

"What if I lose this eye, you… you jerk!" Weiss accused, now standing close enough to glare down at Ruby with her one good eye. The other, as Weiss helpfully pointed out, was covered by a bandage.

Ruby must have gotten in a good hit on her… shame she couldn't remember it.

"Come a little… closer and I'll… show you what else... you have to lose!" Ruby punctuated this statement by biting at Weiss, with a satisfying clack as her teeth came together.

"Ugh. Shut up." Weiss put a hand on Ruby's forehead, and pushed it down as she stepped away. "Right now, you're tied up. All bark and no bite."

"What's the matter?" Ruby asked, trying to rile her up. "Did you want me to bite the... other one too?"

"You hit me in the face with a _brick._" Weiss snapped.

"You broke my leg... _and_ my ribs!" Ruby shot back.

"I didn't do that, _they_ did!" Weiss insisted, gesturing to Ruby's sides.

Ah, yes, the demons she must have summoned to do her dirty work. Ruby decided to look to see what she was up against.

Except… they weren't demons. Holding the crossbow over her were two sets of silvery armor. Venturing a guess from Blake's descriptions, these were likely… Fae metal? That sort of summon was not acquired easily, or cheaply… and their cost could not be paid in cash.

Okay… maybe Weiss _was_ the competent one. It would explain why Ruby hadn't gone into Soul Form to fight her, if there hadn't been demons around… and how Weiss could have snuck up on her… except… how would she get into brick-throwing range without alerting Ruby? If they hadn't hurt her _first,_ she would have just ran away upon noticing the approaching demon seed. Blake had been quite clear that she wasn't ready for that kind of action.

Ruby turned her head back to Weiss and _focused,_ reaching out with her soulsense, searching for the demon seed that should have been contained within the white-haired cyclops.

"Oh my gods…" Ruby said softly. "You didn't attack me with demons because you _can't._"

"I-I can summon them just fine, thank you very much!" Weiss insisted, taking a step back. "I-In fact, I'm the most powerful demon summoner to ever live!"

"You've already got me tied up, Schnee. You don't have to lie to me." Ruby almost giggled, but the pain in her ribs but a quick stop to _that._ "I can see the truth plain as day. You don't have the stink of a demon on you. You're not going to turn into one, so I don't have to kill you. So just let me go and we can pretend like this never happened."

"Liar!" Weiss insisted. "You just want me to let my guard down so you can kill me! You Reapers have had it out for my family for centuries! You won't suffer a Schnee to live!"

"We're only here to kill demons, Weiss." Ruby said as she rolled her head around to take in her surroundings. They appeared to be in some sort of brightly-lit warehouse. "If you start summoning them, you'll turn into one, and that'd be bad, but… you don't _have_ to be as dumb as the rest of your family."

"Do _not_ insult my family… you… you… dolt!" Weiss stomped her foot.

"That's… the best you could come up with?"

"Shut up!"

"...What are you going to do to make me?" Ruby waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You are… awfully bold for someone I could kill at any moment."

"And _you're_ awfully bold for a cyclops!"

"You threw a _brick_ at my _face!_"

"In self defense!" Ruby insisted.

Weiss's mouth flapped open and closed a few times, like she intended to argue the point. Eventually, she settled on a response:

"You would have done it even if I hadn't attacked you."

"Um… no?" Ruby said. "That'd be assault. I have to follow the law with regular people, y'know?"

"And if I _had_ summoned a demon?" Weiss crossed her arms.

Ruby looked her right in the eyes.

Well, eye. The other was still covered by a bandage.

"It wouldn't have been a brick."

"So, what, a _brick_ is your version of being _gentle?!_"

"Relatively speaking… yeah."

Maybe it wasn't the _most_ gentle option she'd had, but… it's not like Ruby could even remember what happened.

"Then I suppose that's how gentle I'll have to be with _you._" Weiss threatened.

"You don't _have_ to be gentle with me, you know." Ruby goaded. "I told you, I can take it."

And Weiss… blushed at that?

Actually, it was kind of adorable.

"I'll… I'll break you!" Weiss said. "And no one will be able to hear your screams!"

Ruby raised a single eyebrow, and channeled her inner Yang to pursue this new angle.

"Don't threaten _me_ with a good time."

Weiss sputtered for a bit.

"Maybe I should just kill you! It'll shut you up for a bit!"

Oh. Right. She was supposed to be trying to get Weiss to do that.

"Nah. You don't have the guts." Ruby taunted. "You won't do it. You're too weak. I'm perfectly safe here."

Anger flashed in Weiss's eye, followed by hesitation, then… shame?

"Maybe I don't." Weiss said quietly. "But it doesn't matter. The sun will rise in about an hour, and I only warded the warehouse to protect the Fae. Maybe I'll just leave you here for a few days."

Well, that certainly wouldn't be fun… but it _would_ be an out… just… not a quick one. Hopefully Yang didn't freak out too much in the meantime.

Another thing that wouldn't be an issue if Yang still remained blissfully unaware of her new lifestyle. Or… deathstyle, maybe? She wasn't exactly alive.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the distinctive mechanical sound of a shotgun being pumped.

Followed by a perfectly good shell clattering to the ground to Weiss's right.

"Let my sister go." Yang commanded from behind Weiss.

"Yang." Weiss said, slowly raising her hands. "I was wondering what happened to you after you just _ghosted_ me."

"Let her go, or I'll ghost you in a more _permanent_ fashion." Yang pushed the barrel of the shotgun into the back of Weiss's neck, having to get rather close to do so.

"If you do anything to hurt me, they won't hesitate to kill her." Weiss said.

"Yeah, but she'll get better. You, on the other hand? You aren't going to recover from having your brains splattered all over the floor. Let. Her. Go."

Weiss sighed, and made a slow, careful gesture. The suits of armor removed the crossbow, set it on the ground, and began to untie Ruby.

"We could have been great together, Yang." Weiss said. "I'm sorry I'm not what you wanted."

"You could have been Chris freakin' Hemsworth and I still wouldn't betray my sister." Yang growled. "Now, where's her phone?"

"I… destroyed it." Weiss said.

"Bullshit." Yang insisted. "I know how these things work. There's too much good intel on it for you to do that. You still have it. Where _is_ it?"

Weiss began to slowly reach down with her right hand.

"No!" Yang barked, and Weiss froze immediately. "Tell me where it is, and _I_ will grab it."

"Left inside pocket on my jacket." Weiss began to blush again.

"Hold still." Yang ordered, and began to reach around to awkwardly search for it, keeping the shotgun pressed into the back of Weiss's neck.

After finishing untying her, the suits of armor dropped her gently to the ground… well, about as gently as a brick to the face. Ruby supposed she deserved it.

While Yang was trying _not_ to feel up Weiss as she searched, Ruby got an idea. Limping towards one of the crates she'd been tied to, she bit into her thumb until it started to bleed, then started to write.

"Hey, Ruby, can you walk?" Yang asked softly.

"Not well. I'm going to be stuck limping for a while."

"Alright." Yang said, before turning to Weiss and shifting back to a more commanding tone. "Don't move. Stand _right_ there until we're out of the building. And keep in mind that I am a _great_ shot."

Yang began to slowly step around Weiss, keeping the barrel pointed in the direction of her head. She paused briefly to crouch down and pick up the shell she'd ejected when she pumped the shotgun for dramatic effect, but never took her eyes or her aim off of Weiss.

Once Yang reached her, Ruby leaned onto her shoulder, and they began to slowly back towards the exit, revealing what Ruby had written:

Her phone number.

"Hey Weiss?" Ruby said. "Next time… if you want to tie me up, you can just ask."

"W-What?"

"Or I can tie you up, if you'd prefer." Ruby lowered her voice. "I'm… flexible."

Ruby laughed as Weiss turned a brilliant shade of crimson. Gods it hurt, but it was worth it.

"Call me." Ruby mouthed as she mimed a phone, and Weiss glared back, moving ever-so-slightly.

"Hey!" Yang barked. "No moving!"

Weiss snapped back to the position she had been in.

It was slow going, and Ruby had plenty of time to take in her surroundings as they left the warehouse. For instance she noticed that Yang had left the safety engaged on the shotgun the entire time. Looked like Weiss wasn't the only one who didn't actually have the guts to kill someone.

She _also_ noticed that Yang was just as red as Weiss.

Once they were about half a block from the warehouse, Yang stowed the shotgun in her coat, turned to Ruby, handed her her phone back, and asked:

"What the hell was _that?_"

"What was what?" Ruby asked, feigning ignorance as she slipped her phone into her hoodie pocket.

"That whole… flirting thing." Yang said. "I thought you said you were ace?"

"I mean…" Ruby felt her cheeks heat up as she looked away. "I was…"

"Was? As in, aren't anymore?" Yang pressed. "We… talked about this. You told me that that sort of thing doesn't just change."

"Well… I… uh…" Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Maybe I just needed to go through the _right_ puberty for it to happen?"

"And… you have now?"

"I guess…" Ruby sighed. "I was _kinda_ starting to notice before I, y'know… died… but then they brought me back in a fully post-pubescent body that makes its own girl hormones, and, well…" She finished with a shrug.

"And… you like girls."

"Well… yeah…"

"Do I have to start worrying about guys, too?" Yang's expression turned serious.

"No… still not into guys…"

"So… you're gay, then?"

Ruby paused for a beat.

"Oh my gods Yang, I am _so_ freaking gay." Ruby said, her eyes widening as she met her sister's gaze. "Have you _seen_ girls? How could I _not_ be?"

Yang chuckled at that.

"Well, I'm not. And just a few months ago, neither were you."

"Well, I was wrong, then." Ruby nodded sagely. "And so are you."

"Listen here, you little twerp." Yang said teasingly. "I'm _never_ wrong."

"Uh-huh." Was all Ruby said in response.

"Well, at least I have better taste than to hit on… _her_. C'mon, Rubes."

"I mean…" Ruby looked at the ground. "She is pretty cute…"

"_You're_ the one who told me to cut off contact with her! Plus, she hurt you, and tied you up."

"Y-Yeah… she did." Ruby turned her face away from Yang, trying to hide her blush.

"Oh my god… Ruby… were you… _into_ it?"

Ruby remained silent, shrinking in on herself.

"Ruby!" Yang teased. "Gross!"

"...I'd ask you to kill me if I weren't already dead." Ruby said, burning in embarrassment.

Yang's joviality was replaced by a frown in an instant.

"But seriously, Rubes. You can do a lot better than her. You shouldn't have given her your number."

"She…" Ruby sighed. "She hasn't summoned any demons, so… I don't have to kill her. Maybe I can convince her to _never_ do it? I'd rather do that than kill people. It doesn't _have_ to be romantic."

"But you wouldn't mind if it was?"

"I did say she was cute…"

Yang stopped suddenly, and Ruby almost fell forward before Yang pulled her back, and turned her to look her in the eye.

"Ruby… please. Be careful. She's dangerous and seems to have a grudge against you just for existing. Maybe you won't stay dead, but that doesn't mean she won't hurt you."

"I mean… dying sucks." Ruby looked down, before meeting Yang's gaze again. "But… I'm an adult, and I made the decision to take a dangerous career path. And I'm not going to just stop. I can't. So it's the kind of thing I'll have to face every day."

"But you don't have to face it alone, Ruby. I'm here for you."

"I don't want to have to worry about you, Yang."

"And I don't want to have to worry about you." Yang sighed. "But it's easier when it's something I can _do_ something about. When I can protect you. And this time… I saved _you,_ didn't I?"

"I… would have gotten myself free… eventually."

"Sure, sure." Yang smirked. "I'm pretty sure that's not how mom taught you to say 'thank you'."

"Ugh, fine!" Ruby groaned. "Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome!" Yang pulled Ruby into a tight hug. "I've always got your back."

Ruby squeaked in pain.

"Maybe you could lay off my broken ribs?" She forced out.

"Oh! Shoot! Sorry!" Yang loosened her grip, and gave Ruby a few seconds to catch her breath before they resumed their slow pace.

"How'd you find me, anyway?" Ruby asked.

"Well, the first thing Weiss taught me was a tracking spell." Yang began. "But, it needs, like, hair or something to work. And… here's the weirdest thing. There's not a speck of it on any of your brushes, or razors, or _anything._"

"That's… part of how us Reapers work." Ruby explained. "When we regenerate, all of our old body parts just kind of… disappear."

"So… does that mean… there's no body under your gravestone?"

"Shouldn't be, no."

"Weird." Yang continued. "Anyway, so when you didn't show up, and you weren't responding to my messages, and when I called it went straight to voicemail, well… I panicked a bit."

"I… was kind of worried you would." Ruby said.

"But then I remembered that, a while back, I found a long, white hair pretty far from where I had been meeting Weiss, right? So I figured she must have been following me… probably to get to you, in retrospect. Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's not your fault, Yang. You didn't know."

"Okay… I… still don't feel great about it, but… okay." Yang sighed. "Fortunately, I had the foresight to keep this hair, and I figured, if she wasn't the one behind it, she'd been following you, so she might know, and I could convince her to… uh… tell me." Yang patted the lump under her coat, where the shotgun was sitting.

"That… reminds me." Ruby said. "Where the _hell_ did you get a shotgun."

"I… bought it?" Yang tried, unconvincingly.

"No you didn't." Ruby pressed. "Pretty sure that barrel's too short to be legal, and the waiting period is ten days."

Yang groaned.

"I needed some firepower, given what we're up against."

"Yang…"

"What?"

"Where did you get it?"

"I… called in a favor."

"With _who?_"

"With, um…" Yang finished with a series of unintelligible mumbles.

"Yang."

"I… I don't want to have to say it."

Ruby leveled a flat look at her sister.

"Alright, fine! Yes! It _was_ the Branwens!" Yang snapped. "But I can do some actual _good_ with it. It's better than letting them keep it. One less tool they have to hurt people..."

Ruby let out an exasperated sigh, and began to rub her temple.

"Alright fine, I'll… talk to Blake about having her teach you more magic so that you're not going to _organized crime rings_ to get your firepower."

"Who's Blake?"

"She's… my mentor for… all of this." Ruby said.

"Well, where the hell was she?"

"She, um… she says she's a more… hands-off type of instructor."

"So… lazy?"

"No!" Ruby insisted. "She did a really good job early on, it's just… she's busy too, and I've been doing well enough on my own that it didn't seem like an issue, so…"

"So she just threw you to the wolves."

"I mean… I agreed to it."

Yang sighed.

"Well, at least you have me now to watch your back, even if your _mentor_ should have been helping."

"Yeah, yeah… rub it in, why don't you?" It did bother Ruby that she couldn't remember _how_ she messed up. She had some guesses, but...

Yang pulled Ruby from her thoughts by tousling her hair.

"Anytime, sis."

"I didn't mean _literally!_"

It didn't take much more walking before Yang's motorcycle came into view. Unfortunately, with it, the sky was starting to get dangerously light.

"Yang… do you know how long we have until sunrise?" Ruby asked.

"I'd have to check." Yang said, pulling out her phone with her free hand and running a search. "In… about two minutes. Why?"

"It's… nothing." Ruby lied. "I just need to rest a bit."

Without giving her a chance to respond, Ruby pushed off of Yang, and limped over to the nearest wall.

"O… kay…?" Yang tilted her head. "I could have helped you with that."

"Don't worry about it." Ruby tried to wave her off. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah… that reminds me…" Yang began. "Should I take you to a hospital, or… what? I don't really know how you guys handle…" Yang waved her hand in a circle. "Medical stuff."

"I'll be fine, Yang. I'll heal on my own." Ruby sighed. "I just need a few minutes. Could you, um… could you look away for a bit?"

Yang narrowed her eyes.

"Why?"

"I just… I'd be more comfortable if you weren't looking."

"What?" Yang laughed. "Does it involve getting naked or something? Wouldn't be anything I haven't seen before."

"No! No!" Ruby blushed, shaking her head. "I just, I don't want you to see!"

"I'm sure whatever it is will be fine, Rubes. But I'm still worried about Weiss following us and sneaking in an attack when I'm not-"

Unfortunately, it was a bit too late: the sun had started to peak over the horizon, and with it came the morning onrush of magical energy.

The leading wave of which, unfortunately, had a rather destructive effect on magical entities.

Reapers, for instance.

There was a flash of pain as Ruby died, before her soul left her body, and left her with only an unclouded soulsense. With which, she got to watch Yang's wide-eyed reaction to Ruby's body's layers of flesh being blasted away, leaving only her charred skeleton to clatter to the ground.

Ruby's soul pulsed out a sigh. Now came the _truly_ painful part.

She flew back into her body, and all she could sense was pain well beyond what it was possible to feel with only a brain. This was not the first time she'd done this, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Fortunately, the pain didn't actually last very long as her body reformed. Unfortunately, it _felt_ like it lasted _forever._

By the time she had eyes to open, Ruby's body had been restored to perfect health, with her sitting against the wall she had been leaning on.

Yang looked like she was about to vomit.

"I told you I didn't want you to watch." Ruby said as she stood up.

"Oh my god...s…" Yang sounded horrified. "The sunrise… does that happen to you _every_ morning?"

"Nah." Ruby said, hopping around a bit and appreciating her uninjured legs. "Usually, I'm safely behind some wards during sunrise. Mornings are better when you don't start them off by dying… again…"

"So, wait." Yang began. "Do you… just, like, die every time you need to heal? Is… is that how that works?"

"Nope." Ruby said. "We usually have other, less painful methods, but… it'd make me vulnerable to dying… a little more permanently. And like you said, Weiss could have been following us."

"So you _don't_ trust her?"

"I'm hopeful, not stupid, Yang." Ruby shrugged. "Anyway, I'm on the clock, now, so… uh… I'll text you an address, and have you meet Blake at sunset?"

"I guess?" Yang said.

But Ruby had already shifted into Soul Form, and left only a cloud of rose petals behind as she ran off for another day on the job.


	14. The Witch: Chapter 14

It was fortunate that Yang Xiao Long didn't have anything she needed to do today. After working yesterday, and spending all night searching for Ruby… she really could have used some rest.

Unfortunately, it didn't come easily. The image of Ruby's flesh being blasted away remained at the forefront of her mind. Sure, Ruby had gotten back up, but… it was still disturbing, and it kept bringing back flashes.

Flashes of Ruby's glassy, dead eye after the car hit her.

Flashes of her mom holding onto a bleeding wound on her stomach, telling Yang it would be okay for the very last time.

Flashes of holding a shotgun to the back of Weiss's head - someone she had only recently hoped could be her _friend_ \- knowing full well what would happen should she pull the trigger.

Flashes of Ruby, in pain, with imagined torture scenarios to give her those wounds. Weiss cackling madly in the background.

So as much as Yang's body screamed for sleep, her mind wouldn't allow it. So instead she laid face down in her bed. Nauseous. Trembling. Wick tracing warm lines across her shoulders and back in an attempt to help her relax.

And now she knew why he kept disappearing every morning. It was not a comforting thought. Was it as painful for him as it looked to be for Ruby? Maybe this Blake person could teach her to create wards of her own.

When Yang finally fell asleep, her dreams were nothing more than loosely connected nightmares about the very things that had occupied her waking thoughts.

Her alarm finally freed her from a dream involving an insanely unhinged Weiss torturing both her and Ruby by repeatedly skeleton-ifying parts of them.

She groaned as she swiped at her phone in an attempt to silence it. Happy as she was to escape the dream, she'd only gotten four, maybe four and a half hours of sleep.

She had about half an hour until sunset. Half an hour to get to the address Ruby had texted her.

Apparently Ruby _could_ text her during the day. Whether this was due to it just being important enough this time, or the fact that she was going to start working with Ruby, or something else, Yang didn't know, but she appreciated the change.

Yang quickly threw some clothes on, and snuck out into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich and a slice of toast for Wick. It was fascinating to watch the sprite eat; it was a mesmerizing combination of chewing and burning. Maybe food hadn't actually been part of their loose agreement, but he seemed to enjoy it, and Yang enjoyed watching him.

Plus, he did a great job of cleaning up the crumbs.

Upon finishing her meal, Yang was able to sneak out the front door without any awkward encounters with her father, hop on Bumblebee, and arrive at the address just in time for the sun to set. It appeared to be a multi-story apartment building. The type that was just ostentatious enough on the outside to call itself "luxury" but internally was anything but.

Yang parked her motorcycle and made her way to the front entrance to wait for Ruby.

It didn't take long for her to be caught in a flash of quickly disappearing rose petals.

"How long have you been waiting?" Ruby asked, catching her breath as her red cloak disappeared in scattering of petals.

"Like… thirty seconds?" Yang replied, frowning at the look Ruby was giving her. "What, did you think I was just going to sit here all day?"

"Maybe." Ruby shrugged, pulling out a set of keys from an inside pocket on her suit blazer. "After what happened with the playground…"

"Hey! I wasn't there _that_ long!" Yang insisted.

Ruby unlocked the door, and gestured for Yang to enter.

"Sure, Yang." Ruby rolled her eyes.

They took the elevator up to the fourth floor, and Ruby led her into an apartment. #402, Yang couldn't help but notice.

"Alright, I'm going to get out of this monkey suit." Ruby said as she headed into one of the rooms, before leaning back out to add: "Blake should be here soon."

Not sure where it might be appropriate to sit, Yang elected to awkwardly stand near the entrance, and watch the door.

With nothing else to do, Yang busied herself with quick glances around the apartment that Ruby was now staying in. There were three doors near the entryway. One was cracked open to reveal a bathroom tastefully decorated in lavender. The other two seemed to go into bedrooms, which meant Ruby had her own. That was good… especially considering Ruby's new predilection towards the fairer gender… Yang didn't really want to think about the possibility of Ruby being in a _relationship_ with her mentor.

Visible from the entry was a small kitchen perpendicular to the wall the bathroom and other bedroom were on, with a small island and a pair of stools separating it from the entry area, and a window centered over the sink. Around the corner from the door Ruby entered, the room opened up to reveal a full sized couch set back a good distance from a small, cheap TV. The wall the TV was against also had windows; it seemed they were in a corner unit. No fire-escapes, though. Perhaps there was one in one of the bedroom Windows?

All in all, it was a cozy little apartment. More modern and open than what they'd shared with their dad, clean and well decorated, but… it wasn't home. And Yang missed having Ruby home.

Still, it meant Ruby was living well, at least, and Yang turned most of her focus to the door...

...Until she was caught off guard by a familiar voice coming from behind her.

"Yang? _You're_ Ruby's…? Shit."

Yang turned to see her therapist climbing in through the window. The _window._ The fire-escape free window over the sink.

Her _therapist._

It took her a few seconds to connect the dots. To remember her therapist's name - which she was pretty sure she hadn't heard since the very first appointment - and realize that everything lined up.

And that delay had _nothing_ to do with how good Blake looked in a suit, thank you very much.

It was a nice suit, though. Dark black, not "charcoal" or "dark grey", but a proper, clean black. And the purple shirt under the blazer contrasted well with the golden tie that matched her eyes, still as gold as they had been at the last appointment, but her sharp gaze was no longer obstructed by the disarming little glasses she was always wearing. It was a sharp look. Nothing like the conservatively non-aggressive sweaters she wore in their therapy sessions. Yang was just jealous that she didn't have a suit like it of her own. That's all this was.

There was also the pair of cat ears atop her head. Plus the unorthodox method of entry. Those would be a good excuse for explaining her apparent confusion. And why her eyes were probably red, given the pounding of her heart.

"_You're_ Blake?" Yang eventually asked, after picking up her jaw.

Blake responded with a heavy sigh as she climbed over the sink and shut the window behind her.

"The one and only." Blake deadpanned. "I guess we're going to need to get you a new therapist."

"What? _Why?_" Yang asked, starting to calm herself. "I like you as a therapist."

"Because it's improper for me to be your therapist while I'm basically your sister's boss." Blake explained, before raising her voice and directing it at the door Ruby had disappeared behind. "Something I would have figured out earlier except _Reapers are supposed to change their names after they die!_"

"What? I did change my name!" Ruby shouted back, muffled by the wall. "My _last_ name! And I told you that I was going to bring Yang over! Couldn't you have figured it out then?"

"You told me you would bring your _sister_ over! You never gave me her name!" Blake shouted. "And I can hear you just fine without you shouting!"

Ruby's response was quieter. Too muffled for Yang to make out. Given the way Blake frowned at it, though, it didn't seem like _she_ had any trouble hearing it.

"Is it because of the extra ears?" Yang blurted out, noticing that she _also_ had normal human ears in the usual spots.

"They do help." Blake nodded. "But all Reapers have sharper senses in Soul Form."

"Soul Form?" Yang asked. "That's what… this is?" She gestured in Blake's direction. "Wait… does Ruby have cat ears too? I noticed that she had _something_ under her cloak and-"

"They're _not _cat ears!" Ruby announced as she dramatically swung the door back open, now dressed in a hoodie and skirt.

"Ruby's a little embarrassed by hers." Blake said with a bemused expression.

"Your _what,_ Ruby?" Yang grinned the kind of grin only an older sibling who has found something new to tease their younger sibling about can. "Come on, Ruby, show me!"

"I… I don't wanna." Ruby flipped her hood up over her head and pulled on the drawstrings.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Ruby." Blake offered reassuringly.

"People are either going to freak out or think I'm some kind of weirdo." Ruby mumbled.

"After all the weird stuff I've been through in the last week, I doubt this'll make much of a difference." Yang said.

Blake rewarded her with a soft elbow to the ribs.

"It's a perfectly natural part of your new body, Ruby." Blake said gently. "And… I guess it's not the hardest thing you've ever had to share with your sister, is it?"

"I guess not." Ruby grumbled, before a cloak appeared on top of her hoodie, and she reached up to pull both hoods back.

As an extra pair of ears popped up, Yang _almost_ accused Ruby of lying to her. It looked an awful lot like she _did_ have cat ears. But… on closer inspection, the fur was thicker, and they seemed a bit more rigid than Blake's.

But either way, she was going to have the same reaction:

"Oh my goodness, Ruby! They're _sooo_ cute!" Yang squealed.

Ruby shot Blake a resigned look, like this was _exactly_ what she was afraid of.

"They're… wolf ears." Ruby said quietly.

Yang reached out to feel one.

"They're… so soft."

"Yang, please don't!" Ruby said as a blush crept up her face.

"Why? Dogs like this." Yang said as she scratched around the base. "Doesn't it feel good."

Ruby was as red as a tomato at this point, and tried to squirm away.

"You really should stop." Blake said from across the room as she opened the refrigerator. "You wouldn't want someone to just start playing with _your_ ears."

"But dogs _like_ it." Yang insisted.

"I'm not a dog!" Ruby said, squeezing her eyes shut.

Yang opened her mouth to reply, but lost the words as _something_ clamped over her earlobe.

Something soft, a little moist, with some gentle, harder bits on the inside. A slight nibble, and _something_ flicking against her piercing sent a _shiver_ down her spine. Yang _immediately_ released Ruby's ear to grab at her own. Her fingers impacted soft skin. Someone's face?

Yang looked over to the fridge. Blake was still there, taking a drink from the beer bottle she'd pulled out.

Yang's earlobe was released with a wet smack.

"Not as fun when you're the target, is it?" Blake's voice whispered directly into the assailed ear.

Yang's heart rate skyrocketed as she pulled away. Her back slammed into the wall as she turned to seek out _what_ had been nibbling her earlobe.

For a split second, Blake was standing behind her with a cheshire cat style grin, but she faded into shadow and disappeared. Was it a trick of the light? A quick glance showed that Blake was still standing by the refrigerator, finishing the drink she'd started when Yang last looked.

Was Blake just pulling off a _very_ impressive ventriloquism act?

Ruby started laughing next to her.

"It's okay, Yang." Ruby managed between guffaws. "Blake's just messing with you. You don't have to be afraid."

It wasn't _fear_ that Yang was feeling, but it was… somewhat adjacent. Closer to… anticipation? Something to sort out later. In the meantime, Yang took deep breaths, and worked on controlling her heart rate. It… wasn't as easy as usual to bring it down. She couldn't stop thinking about it.

"But seriously." Blake said as she sashayed over. "That's a bit more of an… intimate touch than I think you want to share with your _sister._"

"Oh… I uh… sorry, Rubes." Yang sighed.

"It's okay… I understand why you…" Ruby trailed off. "But… gods, that was awkward."

"I… it won't happen again."

Ruby nodded, and her extra ears and cloak disappeared in a shower of rose petals.

"So… why do you get a cloak and Blake doesn't?" Yang asked, desperate to change the subject.

"I could have one if I wanted." Blake replied. "We can create clothes and other simple accessories if we want to. It's one of our powers. Though if I wanted to hide my ears," she shot Ruby a look, "_I'd_ probably just go with a bow or something."

"Cloaks are awesome though." Ruby grumbled.

"You're probably going to get called weird for _that_ more than the ears." Yang teased.

Ruby responded by blowing a raspberry.

"Alright. Fine. You do you." Yang offered.

Blake sat down on the couch, lounging against one of the armrests, and gestured for Yang to take the other side. Something she did with a small amount of hesitation. Yang wasn't sure that she could keep her eyes from going red again in close proximity to Blake, even if she wasn't entirely sure why.

Ruby, meanwhile, plopped down on the floor in front of the couch with absolutely no hesitation or fanfare.

"So," Blake began, "Ruby tells me you're looking for someone to teach you more advanced magic? Why don't you start with how, exactly, you managed to fireproof your hair against the sprite hiding in it. That's not a beginner-level sort of spell."

Wick popped out above Yang's shoulder and happily chirped upon being mentioned. He didn't seem to mind having his hiding spot exposed. In fact, he seemed to be _enjoying_ the attention.

Yang, on the other hand, was struggling just a bit with it. Had Blake's gaze always been so… intense during their therapy sessions?

"I… didn't really do anything?" Yang said. "He just… never burns me. I figured that was because he didn't want to."

Blake's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Yang found herself shrinking back.

"A fire can't choose what it does and doesn't burn, Yang."

"I thought it was weird, too!" Ruby piped up. "Like, her clothes got burnt, when I… uh…" Ruby quietly rushed the next part: "pulledheroutofaburninggrainsilo" then resumed speaking normally: "but she wasn't burnt, like, at all!"

Blake gave Yang a _look._

"Why were you in a burning grain silo? I don't…" Blake shook her head. "That's not important. Have… you _ever_ been burned?"

Yang thought back. Thought back hard. She… couldn't think of a time when she had. She remembered a shell casing falling down her shirt when she was… being unwillingly kept away from home. Miraculously, no burns. Sunburns? She'd always gotten lucky, even when she forgot sunblock. A memory of her childhood, where she'd grabbed a pyrex casserole dish when it was fresh from the oven, only to have her mom scold her. She remembered the look of confusion on Summer's face when her hands remained unharmed.

"Now that I think about it?" Yang said. "No, actually. Never."

"What do you mean, _never?_" Ruby asked. "Didn't you… uh… wait… actually… huh."

"Interesting." Blake said, before drawing in the air with the tip of her finger. Glowing, dark purple lines stacked a cold glyph on a water one, and Blake held her bottle up in front of it. "See if you can't chill my drink for me."

"Alright." Yang shrugged, placing her hand against the floating glyphs and finding them… remarkably solid. "I have to warn you, though, Weiss said I was pretty powerful."

"Humor me." Blake said humorlessly.

Yang shrugged, and pushed a small amount of magic into the glyph, resulting in… nothing? She tried harder, still nothing. Yang pushed with all her magical might, and was rewarded with… a few, quickly melting snowflakes popping out of the center of the glyphs.

"Okay, what's the trick? What did you do?"

"There's no trick." Blake said, but the edge of her lips curled up, like there _was_ one. "Ruby, show her how it's done?"

Ruby shrugged and stood up. Yang leaned back, watching for anything special Ruby was doing as she placed her hand on the glyph. Blake was up to _something,_ and Yang would get to the bottom of it!

She couldn't find anything unusual in Ruby's demeanor as the bottle was surrounded by a thin sheet of ice, causing her to frown.

"Seems normal to me." Ruby said. "So why couldn't Yang do it?"

"I have a hunch, but there's one more thing I need to test." Blake said, waving her hand through the glyphs she previously drew and shattering them, before replacing them with a heat and a wind glyph facing noticeably _away_ from anything and anyone. "Yang, make the _smallest_ flame you possibly can out of this."

"Is… that safe?" Yang asked as she cautiously reached towards the new glyph stack.

"Hopefully." Blake offered with a shrug. "You have _some_ self control, right?"

"Right…" Yang said, pushing as little magic into the glyphs as she could.

The flame that emerged was akin to a torch. It painted the room in a bright, dancing orange.

"Can you make it any smaller?" Blake asked. "Candle sized, perhaps?"

Yang tried, she truly did, but she couldn't make it shrink. Instead, she accidentally blasted it up to the size of a campfire, causing her to yelp and pull away, cutting off the magic.

"Hrm…" Blake seemed unphased. "Ruby, your turn. Just like we practiced. Big as you can go."

Ruby was less eager this time, placing her hand on the glyph sheepishly. She seemed to strain against the glyph as it created a flame only slightly larger than the campfire-sized one Yang had unleashed on accident.

The flame suddenly cut off, and Ruby doubled over, exhausted.

"Good Job, Ruby. Thank you." Blake said.

Ruby was out of breath, and, in lieu of a verbal response, simply gave Blake a shaky thumbs-up.

Yang's protective big sister instincts kicked in.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I figured it would be a good visual aid." Blake shrugged. "But no. Ruby here, when not in Soul Form, is… roughly average. That's about all most people can ask to get, even after a great deal of magical training. Flames are a difficult magic to do." Blake leaned forward, propping her chin up on her palm. "Not for you, though. But then, something as simple as a little ice is nearly impossible for you, isn't it?"

"So, what, are you saying I'm a 'fire type' or something?" Yang scoffed.

"It's called an affinity, but… effectively, yes." Blake replied. "It is extremely rare for humans to have affinities, but they do exist."

"So… fire's easy, I can't do ice, and I'm immune to heat. Anything else I should know?"

"Not immune." Blake shook her head. "Just… highly resistant. I wouldn't recommend jumping into a volcano, for instance. Besides which, you are _not_ going to have an immunity to smoke."

"Yeah, we… sort of figured that out the hard way." Yang rubbed the back of her head. Wick took the opportunity to climb onto her arm, zipping down to her elbow with an apologetic chirp.

"Charming." Blake gave Wick a wary look, before returning her gaze to Yang. "You're also likely pretty resistant to magic-based cold and ice."

"Huh… guess that explains why it was so easy to break out when Weiss froze me." Yang paused as noticed the looks both Blake and Ruby were giving her. "What?"

"Weiss _froze_ you?" Ruby asked with a hint of alarm.

"I mean, it was an accident at the time." Yang shrugged, and Wick shot back into her hair. "I, uh… pranked her, and she freaked out when I tried to help fix it, and… I mean, it didn't work very well. I'm fine."

"She froze you on a reflex?" Blake was less alarmed, and more intrigued. "Did she already have the glyphs drawn out?"

"No." Yang shook her head. "I was a little confused, but never got a chance to ask her about it. Does that mean she has an affinity, too?"

"No." Blake shook her head. "I mean, it's still possible she does, but even with an affinity, a human will still need to draw out the spell to do it. Perhaps it was hidden?"

"I've only ever seen her with long sleeves." Yang said. "Maybe she's hiding it in there?"

"Could be." Blake nodded. "Sewn into the lining? Or maybe it's tattoos…"

"Well, either way," Ruby added, still slightly breathless, "we know she _can_ do it, so we can be prepared for it in the future. And whatever else she might be hiding the same way."

Yang nodded, and smiled at her sister's tactical thinking.

"With any luck, she'll keep her distance for some time." Blake said. "But in the meantime, we _all_ need to be ready for it. So I suppose I better start teaching you both some magic."

l - - - l

Hours later, Yang was struggling to keep her eyes open, but she _had_ learned a few new glyphs, ones for light, sound, record, metal, rock, and living material. Blake had demonstrated a few of these by having Yang and Ruby create a pair of holographic video walkie-talkies, powered by their own magic.

"I think for Yang's sake, we ought to call it a night." Blake announced.

Yang whispered a quiet "thank you" not intended to be heard by anyone, but judging by the way Blake's lips quirked ever so slightly up, it appeared that she heard it anyway. She _was_ still in Soul Form. Was she ever not?

"Still have quite a ways to go before I can teach you wards, but you did well, Yang." Blake continued. "I'll… see if I can't get you set up with Dr. Fall herself for your future therapy appointments. She… she's aware of the supernatural, so you won't have to hide anything from her."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Yang stood up, and prepared to leave. "Don't stay up too late, Ruby."

Ruby stifled a giggle, before losing herself to uproarious laughter, as if Yang had just said something hilarious.

"What?" Yang asked, looking between Ruby's cackles and Blake's barely hidden smirk. "_What?_"

"I don't need to sleep anymore, Yang." Ruby managed between diminishing giggles. "Bedtime no longer holds power over me!"

"We don't _need_ sleep," Blake clarified, "but we can if we want to. Sometimes it's nice to take a little… catnap. Still, Ruby and I have plenty we'll need to accomplish, so we can't afford such luxuries tonight."

Yang blinked at them drowsily.

"Well, I'm _mad_ jealous." She said humorlessly. "But I guess I'll see you both tomorrow?"

Blake nodded. Ruby, meanwhile…

There was a trail of red petals leading away from where she'd been sitting as a weight wrapped itself around Yang. Yang looked down and wrapped her arms around her sister. There was no cloak to hide her extra ears this time.

"See you tomorrow, Yang." Ruby nuzzled into her. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ruby." Yang giggled and ruffled her sister's hair, careful to avoid the ears.

Even if she couldn't come home, Yang loved having her sister back.


	15. The Witch: Chapter 15

0+-+-+-+0

Today was the day. It was time. The Reaper always took this route after sunset. Always went to the same park. Always took a shortcut through this alley.

It was out of view of the general populace. Weiss Schnee could not have asked for a better place to spring an ambush. Three Fae Knights lay in wait: one on the rooftop, one in the dumpster, and the third in a small gap between the buildings. This last one had the most important duty: it held the taser.

Weiss herself was at the far end of the alley, hidden behind an illusion that made her appear invisible… so long as she remained stationary. The syringe in her hand was a weighty reminder of the task she would not have trusted to _any_ summon. Anyone else might really hurt her.

_It._

Hurt _it._

Reapers were inhuman beasts. More animal than the people they tried to emulate. In combat, they would even reveal their bestial nature. Winter had said that it was a result of the animal souls that had been shoved into their reanimated corpses leaking out.

They were not people. They did not deserve to be treated like people. They had not earned the right to proper pronouns.

Or… so she had been taught.

Winter had told her that it was a useful deception to make them feel like you saw them as people. It could get them to lower their guard. To stop seeing you as a threat. So long as you could maintain the illusion hiding the demonic tinge of your soul, they might even believe that they could convince you to join their side.

Not that that last part was something Weiss needed concern herself with. _She_ still wouldn't allow Weiss a contract; still wouldn't allow her to summon demons. And besides which, Winter was the only witch to have ever discovered _how_ to hide it. She'd always promised she'd teach Weiss when it became necessary, but… it still wasn't.

Reapers… she had accompanied Winter in a great many encounters with them. Almost all of them had ended with permanently dead Reapers; driven back into the hells from whence they came.

And not a _one_ had fallen by Weiss's hand.

Even if her father believed otherwise.

But Winter was a crutch. Winter always stepped in to finish the job when she couldn't. Knowing Winter was there… it meant she knew she had something to fall back on. Knew she had a safety net to catch her when her courage failed. Someone to do the hard part for her when the beasts had an all-too-human pleading look in their inhuman eyes.

That's why she had to do this mission solo. Either she would find her courage, or the Reaper would kill her.

And that's what it was! Self defense, not murder! The Reapers would stop at nothing to destroy her and her family. So the Schnees needed to be proactive.

And maybe once Weiss had killed a Reaper… _She_ would finally allow her to summon demons.

Weiss's heart began to pound as the Reaper rounded its way into the alley. This was it! Unfortunately, she was in a ratty hoodie, instead of that scrumptious suit.

It. _It_ was wearing a hoodie instead of a suit. And unlike Winter, seduction didn't exactly work for Weiss. No point in getting caught up in how attractive _it_ was or wasn't.

The Reaper - the one that wore Yang's sister's skin - hummed to itself as it jaunted down the alley with a skip in her- _its_ step. Totally innocuous to anyone unaware of the monstrous creature lurking underneath. Almost cute, really.

One step away from being on target, the Reaper stopped, its head snapping _right_ to her. Silver eyes found Weiss's, and it stared _right_ into her soul.

Had Weiss moved? She'd practiced so long, so _hard_ to make sure she could maintain this illusion. She was _certain_ she hadn't moved, and yet…

The Reaper shifted her focus past Weiss, searching for something _beyond_ her. Had it not required motion, Weiss would have sighed in relief.

"What…?" The Reaper began to ask, taking a step forward.

The knight struck right on cue. It grabbed her arm, and drove the taser right into her neck. The Reaper screamed in pain as the knight moved to subdue her, and the other two lept out to help. The scream was muffled by a powerful, metal hand closing over her mouth.

And Weiss was already moving. Before the Reaper could stop twitching, Weiss moved to straddle her - its, damnit! _Its_ \- free arm, holding it down with her body weight as she found the vein in the Reaper's hand. With carefully practiced precision, Weiss injected the potent cocktail. Now they just needed to keep the beast subdued for the 15 minutes or so it would take for the drugs to take effect.

Or maybe it was already working? Weiss let out a heavy sigh as the arm underneath her fell limp. The rest would be easy. She'd take the Reaper back to the warehouse she'd rented, wait for it to go into "Reaper Mode", and then her knights would kill it in reaction. Easy. She needed to do nothing more than just give the-

Weiss was suddenly pelted by a handful of gravel to the face. With an unflattering squawk, she fell backwards off of the arm she was supposed to be holding down.

By the time she had gotten her bearings and stood back up, said arm was holding a loose brick, and using it to bash in the helmet of the taser-wielding knight. Well, formerly taser-wielding; the remains of the device were sparking against the ground.

Her two other knights moved to leap in, but the Reaper slipped through their grasp. It scrambled back until it backed into a wall, with her knights moving to cut off its routes of escape.

Its animal features did not leak out, but the Reaper still gave a beastial growl as it looked at each of the knights in turn, and then Weiss.

Those piercing eyes were on her again, and Weiss's heart skipped a beat. Despite herself, she couldn't help but imagine a different scenario, one with the Reaper growling at her for different reasons. A predatory glare before teeth finding her neck. A gentle bite not to wound, but to assert dominance. To _claim_ her.

Weiss's wide-eyed daydream was interrupted by a dull-red _something_ rapidly approaching her.

And then the world went black.

l- - -l

When Weiss came to, her head was _throbbing._ She couldn't open her left eye. She brought a hand up to it to feel what happened, and, as she pulled it away, saw with her good eye that it was covered in blood. She shakily stood, finding a brick sitting in front of her, one of its edges covered in blood. _Her_ blood.

Weiss looked up. Two knights stood over an unconscious and bloodied Reaper. The third, the one with the damaged helmet, was nowhere to be seen. Had the Reaper damaged it enough to disrupt its form, and send it back to the Fae? That was… rather impressive, considering it hadn't seemed to make use of any of its Reaper powers. If it had, her knights would have left it _dead,_ not unconscious.

Terror gripped her as Weiss considered the possibility that this was, in fact, just a normal girl, but _no._ She _had_ seen the suit. Had seen the cloak. Had seen the scythe, and the scattered rose petals. This was the same girl she'd been tracking the last few days.

Still, she needed to make _sure_ the beast would at least attempt to heal itself when it came to. With a nod, she sent the order. Four metal hands found the leg, and started twisting until a sickening snap filled the alley.

If this was a Reaper, it would try to heal as soon as it woke up, and the knights would kill it without Weiss having to really get involved. If not, and it was just some girl, Weiss could hold her until at least dawn: long enough to be certain of her humanity. It would suck about the leg, but that would heal eventually. And a pile of Schnee hush money would make up for it. Weiss would still be forced to face her father's wrath, but…

She'd done the hard parts. If this was a Reaper, she'd already won. Despite her throbbing headache, tonight had been a success.

0+-+-+-+0

Last night was an unmitigated _disaster._

The Reaper had behaved unpredictably, and even though Weiss was now _certain_ she was a Reaper, she also couldn't shake the idea that she might _also_ be an innocent girl.

Well, not so innocent as to not understand how to _flirt._ Weiss… still wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. On a primal level, seeing the Reaper so beaten down, yet still so _cocky,_ so ready to take control, had… done some things for her. But Logically, she should have been _furious._ She still kind of was.

Her former student was ready to kill her without hesitation. The Reaper had escaped. There would be hell to pay when word of this got home. She had a concussion, quite possibly lost an eye, and she'd just been… too _weak_ to prevent any of this. Winter would have had a horde of demons to protect them. Winter would have goaded the Reaper into doing something stupid that got her permanently killed. Winter would have turned all of her arguments against her, and would not be sitting here fighting conflicted feelings from having her _enemy_ get into her head.

Weiss had never _needed_ demons before…

...but Winter wasn't around anymore to protect her anymore.

Winter was strong. Stronger than any demon summoner before her.

And Winter had demons.

And _She_ had promised that Weiss's power would one day _eclipse_ her sister's.

Weiss would _demand_ it this time. She would _get_ it. And she would never need Winter to protect her again.

It was time to contact _Her_ again.

It was time to contact _Salem._

l- - -l

The circle was complete. Weiss placed herself in the center, bowed her head in reverence, and activated the spell.

This time, she found herself seated in a gazebo. Hot tea and scones decorated the table in front of her. Immaterial to her, but sending the message that she was _welcome_ here. In front of her, Salem was hunched over, wearing a floppy sun hat and weeding her garden. With practiced ease, she turned around, with the barest hint of a smile.

"**Weiss, my dear.**" Salem's voice echoed with **power** within her domain. "**I did not expect you back so soon. Tell me, what has been troubling you?**"

While it was pretty clear Salem _had_ expected her, Weiss knew to hold her tongue. Salem was never caught off guard, but she only tolerated _so_ much impoliteness.

"I have come once again to ask for your blessing." Weiss said formally. "It is becoming increasingly clear that I will not be successful without it. Name your price. I will give _anything_ to become what you have said I was always meant to be."

Salem's frown was barely perceptible.

"**And that, Weiss, is **_**precisely**_ **why I cannot give it to you. Not now.**"

"What?!" Weiss failed to keep her tone from going shrill, before continuing more calmly. "I mean, why is that? What must I do to earn your favor?"

Salem shook her head, removed her hat, then took a seat at the table.

"**Weiss… has Winter shared with you the **_**price**_ **she paid for her power?**"

"N-No, she always told me that it was… too personal."

"**Indeed? It was by design that she would think so.**" Salem took a sip of tea. "**Have you ever wondered why **_**you**_ **have named the heir, and not your older, more experienced, more **_**capable**_ **sister?**"

"Because…" Weiss screwed her eyes up as she tried to make sense of the various answers she had been given. "She knew I'd eventually be more powerful. A better heir. Because she loves me greatly, and cannot get along with father. Because she didn't _want_ to be the heir."

"**Oh? On the contrary.**" Salem smirked over her teacup. "**Winter wanted nothing more.**"

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"**It means… that's the price Winter paid.**" Salem said, somewhere between smug and wistful. "**Winter gave up her ability to have children. By any means. Not even magical. Nor can she adopt. Her desire to be a mother was… a powerful one. That **_**power**_ **is what I used to make her such an unparalleled demon summoner.**"

"So… the greater the sacrifice, the greater the power?" Weiss asked. "I told you, I'd give you _anything._"

"**And that's **_**precisely**_ **the problem.**" Salem sneered. "**You are desperate. You **_**want**_ **it too much. The price does not exist merely as payment, so much as something to make becoming a demon summoner undesirable. Desperate as you are, should I give you the power now, you would be the **_**weakest**_ **summoner I've created in millenia. Weaker than if I'd given it to you at any point before now. It would be a waste. But… with what I know of your fate, should I give you time to ripen… one day, it will be the least palatable thing you can possibly imagine. But you will **_**still**_ **make the deal. And you will be second **_**only**_ **to me. Even the **_**gods**_ **will cower in your wake.**"

"So why tell me this _now?_" Weiss asked. "Why couldn't you have told me any of the earlier times I'd asked? I could have-"

"**You could have done much, and fate would have changed.**" Salem turned her forlorn gaze towards the garden, before returning it to Weiss with a triumphant glare. "**But the die has now been cast. Events are now set in an order which will cascade into an inevitable conclusion. This was merely the final juncture in which it could have been changed; the final act required to make that first domino fall. I am telling you now because **_**now**_ **is when I need you to know. You **_**will**_ **have what you desire. Everything you were promised. All in due time.**"

"But not today." Weiss stood up, pushed in her chair, and added under her breath. "So this was a wasted effort."

"**No, Weiss.**" Salem's face warped itself into a predatory grin. "**Not wasted at all. I have given you information, something even **_**you**_ **should understand the power behind. And, if you stay a while, I intend to give you more.**"

"Oh?" Weiss's interest was piqued, and she leaned in over the back of her chair.

"**First… you should know that your family has lied to you about Reapers.**"

Weiss opened her mouth to protest.

"**Not maliciously.**" Salem interrupted before she began. "**Much of it, not even knowing the truth about Reapers themselves.**"

"So what _is_ the truth about them?" Weiss asked.

"**That is not for me to tell. But you now have **_**someone**_ **who can.**"

An image flashed, unbidden, in her mind: The phone number, written on the crate in blood. Weiss was well-versed in magic enough to know that this thought was _not_ her own. She was seeing it because _Salem_ wanted her to.

"Is that all you have for me, then?" Weiss asked, preparing once again to leave.

"**No.**" Salem said. "**There is one more thing.**" Salem stood, walking around the table and approaching Weiss. "**A gift. A sign of good will. Close your eyes.**"

Weiss gave Salem a wary look, but complied.

She winced as she felt a palm cover her injured eye, passing through the bandages as if they didn't exist. Then, there was a flash, and her eye exploded with pain. Weiss gasped as her legs buckled, her arms on the back of the chair the only thing keeping her upright… finally, as suddenly as it came, the pain was gone.

And Weiss opened _both_ eyes.

"**It would have taken months to heal unassisted.**" Salem said casually. "**And I **_**need**_ **you to see.**" She adopted a matronly smile. "**You are free to go. I have nothing more for you… for now.**"

Weiss gasped as she came out of her trance, falling forward out of the circle. Her eye itched furiously under her bandages, causing her to desperately rip them off. Her world opened up to be - once again - stereoscopic, for the first time since she'd been hit by the brick. She brought a shaking hand up to her eye, feeling the raised, but fully healed scar that traced the wound.

Just to be sure, Weiss scrambled into the hotel bathroom, looking into the mirror. Her eye appeared normal, save for the scar she'd already felt… and the oddest feeling that _someone_ was watching her. She looked away, and the feeling faded.

With a heavy sigh, Weiss ran her fingers through her bangs, then pulled out her phone, tapping out the memorized digits from the warehouse.

l- - -l

When the Reaper returned to the warehouse, she was wearing that stupid hoodie again.

"You should have worn the suit." Weiss said as she stepped out of the shadows. "This is business, is it not?"

"I mean, this could be for pleasure, if you want." the Reaper punctuated this with a wink, which caused Weiss to scowl, and the Reaper shrunk back. "I mean… I'm sorry, let's try that again. Hello! I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!"

The Reaper - Ruby - offered her hand.

Weiss didn't take it.

Ruby awkwardly withdrew her hand.

"Look," Ruby began, "I just… 'business' for Reapers is fighting demons, and… you're not. I'd like to keep it that way. Plus, I don't like wearing suits."

"Shame, _I_ like you in it." Weiss said, despite herself. She shook her head. "But that doesn't matter! This _is_ business! Why do you Reapers keep hunting my family!?"

"I mean, it's not, like, a _personal_ thing with your family." Ruby said, and Weiss scowled again, causing her to flinch back, _again._ "L-Like I said, anyone who's summoned demons will turn into one, and, y'know, we exist to fight demons, so… don't summon demons, and we're good, okay?"

"Oh? And I'm just supposed to abandon the _rest_ of my family?"

The Reaper looked… remorseful?

"Honestly…" Ruby said, "if Yang had… y'know… like, it'd be my job to… um… destroy her soul, but…" Ruby looked into her eyes. That stupid, soul-piercing stare! "I… don't think I could. The gods wouldn't be happy, and Pyrrha… well, she'd probably smite me. The _good_ kind of smite, where it'd be oblivion instead of the afterlife, but… I don't think I could do that to my sister. So… I can't blame you."

"But you'd do it to _mine_." Weiss accused. "Or _me,_ if I were part of that group."

"I… wouldn't _want_ to." Ruby said, looking down briefly before meeting Weiss's eyes again. "O-Only if I _had_ to. If there were _any_ other way…"

"But there isn't, is there?" Weiss accused, taking an angry step forward.

"I-I…" Ruby trailed off.

"Then this _is_ self defense." Weiss whispered, her voice icy cold.

Weiss steeled herself. Just like she'd practiced. Just like Winter taught her. She should have been able to do this with her eyes closed.

So she did.

Magic cold spreading past her hand from the glyphs on her wrist. An impossibly sharp blade of ice whistling through the air. The thud of something heavy plopping to the ground. The crumpling of a body following it.

Weiss opened her eyes.

Dead, glassy grey stared back at her. The head sat separated from the body. From the _corpse._ _She_ had done this. _Weiss_ had finally worked up the nerve to kill.

It should have been a moment of triumph, even if it wouldn't be permanent.

Instead, Weiss found herself overwhelmed by nausea.

Her summoned ice sword shattered as she dropped it, and Weiss fell to her knees, doubled over and trying to hold back the dry heaves. Fortunately, the liquid pooling under her face remained only tears, at least, for now.

"Ugh… that _hurt,_ Weiss! Why would you- Weiss?"

A hand found her shoulder. Gentle, but strong. Another tilted her chin up, and met her eyes.

Gods, she must have looked miserable, judging from the way the Reaper's expression morphed. This was just another failure for Weiss. Another place where she failed to meet expectations. Couldn't even do something so simple as keep her composure in the face of her enemy. No Winter to bail her out, this time. Not that it mattered. She would _never_ be as good as everyone said she was supposed to be. This Reaper might as well just pull out her scythe and-

...Hug her?

"It'll be okay." Ruby offered softly.

A hug was the _last_ thing she'd expected, yet Ruby's arms were wrapped around her.

She should have hated this. This was her _enemy,_ and she didn't _need_ hugs. They weren't a part of her life. The Schnees were too strong for such weakness. Even when Winter indulged in hugging her, she only did so when no one was looking; when no one could possibly report it back to father.

And yet this creature, this… _monster_ before her, was… warm. And comforting. Ruby was _comforting_ her. After Weiss had attacked her! Had _killed_ her.

Her own father wouldn't give her a hug…

...but her family's mortal enemy _would._ No questions. No expectations. No bartering. Just… saw she was miserable, and gave her a hug.

Weiss shook as she was wracked with sobs, slowly raising her arms to hold the other girl tight. To not let her go.

Not a beast. Not a monster. Not a Reaper.

Just a person, who, despite all logic pushing to the contrary, seemed to _care._

_Why?_ Weiss certainly didn't deserve it. She was a failure, and her enemy besides! Why wasn't she just… putting Weiss out of her misery? There was nothing Weiss could do to stop her if she tried. It would have been the smart thing to do. The _reasonable_ thing. If the situation were reversed her father would have _demanded_ it.

Instead, it seemed almost like she had a second person, in the whole wide world, who actually _cared_ about her. Not being paid to pretend. Nor manipulated. Just sincerely wanted to help.

Just like…

Winter.

Weiss panicked.

Ruby would _kill_ Winter, if given the chance.

And Winter would do the same.

So Weiss shoved the Reaper over, and fled the warehouse.

Leaving behind a very confused Ruby, and a burning hole in her frozen heart.


	16. Part Two: Red Light

l

**Part Two:  
****Red Light**

* * *

"So… I thought you'd be out 'Reapering' today, like Ruby. But… I guess my therapy appointments were during the day, too. How does that work, anyway?"

"Ruby's still in training." Blake said. "For the first year, the rules are a bit… different. Sunup to sundown, when the demons are at their weakest, for exactly 365 days in a row. You get a bit more flexibility in your schedule in your second year, and actual days off."

"Huh." Yang Xiao Long leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. "Does that mean _you_ are in your second year?"

"No." Blake quietly laughed. "Goodness no. They wouldn't let me be a mentor _that_ early. And for future reference, it's a bit impolite to ask a Reaper how long they've been doing it for. Some of us have been doing it for hundreds of years, and don't like to be reminded of the fact." Blake bit her lip, reacting to the way Yang frowned at that. "But… if it'll make you feel better, I've only been doing this for four."

"Sorry…" Yang leaned back on the couch. "I didn't mean to… I guess there wouldn't be any real way to tell, would there? Since you're going to be stuck looking like you're… twenty-one or so forever?"

"Twenty-two." Blake had the slightest of smirks. "But I _know_ you know better than to ask a woman her age."

Yang raised her hands in defeat, and tried to shake off how… disappointed she felt that Blake was a full six years older than her. They _looked_ like they were pretty much the same age. Why did it bother her that they weren't? Why was she fishing for it in the first place? Blake was right; it _wasn't_ polite to ask that.

Yang tried to deflect by changing the subject.

"You said demons are weakest during the day? How 'come they don't just get, uh… blasted away at sunrise. Like… Ruby did, the other day…"

"Hrm…" Blake tapped her chin. "How do I explain this to someone without the… clarity of soulsense that Reapers have?" She paused for a moment as she thought. "So… imagine the world is a beach, okay? Sunrise is like the tide coming in, except instead of coming in slowly it surges up as one big wave: the Wave of Dawn. Humans and normal objects? They're made out of solid material, so the wave doesn't break them apart, but magical constructs, like Ruby and me? We're made out of sand, so the wave will break us apart unless we're big and solid enough, like a Reaper in Soul Form, or a vampire with enough stored lifeforce. It'll still hurt a lot, and drain a lot of energy, but it's still survivable. It's better to have a ward to protect you, which is like having a big wall of sand between you and the wave."

"So… demons just have a lot of stored energy?" Yang asked. "I guess that's why they'd be weaker after dawn."

"Not exactly." Blake corrected. "Demons are more like… deep holes in the sand. Rather than taking the wave full force, they might just get a little sand blown in from the top. Still makes them weaker, but even the weak ones usually survive. And the longer they're around? The deeper they dig, and the larger that hole becomes. It's easier for them to dig at night, when the 'tide' is low, so that's when they grow and heal the fastest. Demons…" Blake waved her hand in a circle, "aren't magic. They are… the antithesis of all magic and life. They seek to destroy everything, effectively. When a human becomes a demon seed, it uses their body as a shell to grow a new demon, and protect it from the waves until, when the human dies, all the anti-magic leaks out and the new demon is born into the world. Unfortunately, once the demon starts growing inside a soul, the only way to kill the demon is to destroy the soul… if the demon inside hasn't done so already."

"Yeah… that sounds like a terrible way to go." Yang shuddered. "Why would anyone get involved in that on purpose?"

An image of a cackling Weiss popped into her head. It was a real shame; in another life, perhaps she and Weiss could have become friends.

"Same reason anyone does anything evil." Blake's expression shifted, and became clearly pained. It was the most readable expression Yang had ever seen on her. "They… think the short term gain is worth it. Or that they can avoid the consequences. Or… they believe that they are making a noble sacrifice."

It _hurt_ Yang to see Blake looking so haunted like this. Before she could consider what she was doing, she was reaching out to pull her into a hug. When she caught herself at the last second, she tried to play it off by simply putting a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

There was a brief, bright yet shy smile. Rays of sunlight peeking out from those bright, golden eyes, and warming Yang's erratically beating heart. Then Blake's expression fell back into its neutral mask, and Yang found herself experiencing a disappointed calm.

"Don't worry about it." Blake offered casually, as though their little exchange simply hadn't happened. "Anyway, back to magic. You said you were having trouble with flame spells?"

"Yeah." Yang swallowed, leaning back into the couch and trying to join Blake in pretending nothing happened. "I… can't seem to find a material that's… heat proof enough to survive long. And unlike you guys I can't just draw them into the air. Should I, like, find a way to make one out of metal?"

"That's certainly an option." Blake said. "But probably one of your more difficult ones. You _could_ just have it tattooed onto you."

"Yeah, sure." Yang snorted. "Everyone loves hand tattoos. Big ol' circles on my palm. That'd be _real_ inconspicuous."

"For most people, they wouldn't have a lot of safe choices." Blake offered. "But for you… well, few things are as fireproof as _you_ are. Wick hasn't ever managed to burn your hair, after all."

"Yeah, and he better not start." Yang giggled as Wick popped out to chirp indignantly.

"He couldn't even if he wanted to." Blake said. "Which gives you an option: using your hair as thread."

Yang's stomach dropped at the idea.

"I am _not_ cutting my hair."

"You don't have to." Blake shook her head. "Just gather the loose strands off of your hairbrush or something. As much hair as you have… it shouldn't take too long until we have enough."

"Oh… right… that… definitely works." Yang said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Yeah. That shouldn't take very long at all. I might even have enough just sitting at home already. But… what about the gloves I'd be sewing it into? I already found out that Leather'll just burn up with the sort of flames I make, and I don't know how easy it'd be to sew into welding gloves…"

"Shouldn't be necessary." Blake said. "Given that a part of you will be a part of the object… well, it'll provide some fire protection to the entire glove, so long as you're the one wearing it. You could even sew your hair into _paper_ and it'd be fine. Well, except that it'd still be really easy to rip. It should… also be easier for you to cast spells made out of your hair; it'd be an almost ideal spellcasting medium for you. I mean, the _best_ is always your own blood, but…"

Yang shook her head.

"Yeah, no, I'm good. I definitely don't need _that_ much of a boost. But this… should finally make it work. Thank you!" Yang smiled as she turned to Blake, and was rewarded with the slightest crack of a smile herself, but then Yang caught a glimpse of the clock, and frowned. "I probably need to get going for today, though. I promised my dad I'd be back for dinner, and since Bumblebee's in the shop…"

"I understand." Blake nodded. "See you tomorrow?"

There was the slightest hint of hopefulness in Blake's voice, which made Yang happy for reasons she didn't quite understand.

She was excited for tomorrow. There was _no_ way she was going to be late!

"Yeah, tomorrow. 7am sharp!"

l- - -l

Yang wasn't sure what suddenly had Wick so on edge. He was pinging around inside her hair like an anxious, fiery pinball.

"Wick!" Yang turned her head to whisper. "Calm down!"

Unfortunately, it took her eyes off of where she was going.

"Oof." Yang said as she bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Turquoise eyes flashed directly into her own.

Actually _flashed,_ like a camera.

And Yang found herself to be suddenly unnaturally calm and relaxed, in stark contrast to the whirling emotions running through her just a second ago.

"Ugh. Watch where you're going, you bitch!" The girl she had run into shouted at her.

Yang was overcome by an overpowering sense of shame, and a desire to make things right.

"Yes, ma'am. Of course."

The other woman squinted at her.

"Oh. I didn't expect that to actually work."

"W-What?" Yang asked, but the other woman didn't reply, instead deciding to look her over. Yang elected to do the same.

She had a pair of fluffy, red pigtails jutting out from the sides of her head. Her bangs had highlights that matched her turquoise eyes. She had a small heart tattoo above her left cheek, and a rainbow tattoo curling around her right arm. Her aqua top only partially covered her bra, and left her midriff bare above a short pink skirt. She was rather pretty, if dressed a bit more risqué than anyone else in the area.

Speaking of, the other people walking down the sidewalk simply moved around them, paying them no mind, but giving them an unusual amount of distance. No one so much as glanced in their direction. It was like they were instinctually _avoiding_ them.

Wick popped out on Yang's shoulder, releasing an angry noise somewhere between a squawk and the hiss of a boiling tea kettle.

"Ugh. A fire sprite?" The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh! I guess that means you're magic! Score!" She paused, then looked directly at Wick. "Get rid of it."

"Yes, ma'am." Yang found herself saying. Why did she want to please this woman so much? She didn't even _know_ her. "Wick. Leave."

It was _painful_ to say, but the pain was soothed away by an odd sense of euphoria.

Wick let out a whimpering chirp in her direction, before turning to the other woman and hissing again.

"No, Wick." Yang found herself tearing out her own heart as endorphins flooded her system. "Leave. _Now._"

Her tone left no room for argument.

Wick wavered as he looked up at her, almost as if he was about to cry. Could fire sprites _do_ that? It was heartbreaking, either way, but she didn't have to wait long before Wick disappeared with an audible _snap._

It was… the first time she'd ever sent him away before the sunrise forced him to leave, and it felt _so_ bad. So… why was she so happy? Why had she _wanted_ to do it? The warring emotions within her sent her heart rate skyrocketing.

"Ooh! Flashy eyes!" The woman adopted a predatory grin. "You're actually kind of pretty when you're angry."

"W-What?"

"What's your name?" The woman asked without missing a beat.

"It's… Yang, ma'am." Yang said. "And yours?"

It was only polite that she got hers in return, right?

"Huh. Haven't had a thrall that kept _this_ much self-awareness in a _long_ time." The woman said, and Yang's mind went into overdrive trying to make sense out of what she just said. It felt like the solution was _obvious,_ and the words all made sense individually, but for some reason, she couldn't put it all together; it kept slipping through her mind's grasp. "Well, I suppose you've earned it. I'm Neon, but _you_ can call me _mistress._" Neon punctuated the sentence with a wink.

"Yes mistress." Yang said, and her sinking gut fought against how _good_ it felt to do as she was asked.

Neon lifted up Yang's shirt, and Yang couldn't find it in herself to stop her, even after she started poking and prodding at her belly.

"Huh. A little chubby." Neon said as she dropped the shirt, before looking Yang in the eye. "Now, I'm not trying to say you _should_ go on a diet. I'm saying you really _need_ to go on a diet! You need to stop hiding those abs, girl! I can feel them under there!"

"O-Okay." Yang found herself agreeing, even though she'd never had any problems with her weight before.

"And… muscley all around. Very nice." Neon's voice was sultry as she rolled her fingers up Yang's arms, and onto her shoulders. "A bit top heavy, though." Neon said as she openly stared at Yang's chest.

"I-I'm sorry?" Yang offered.

Neon's hand darted from her shoulder and into her hair, playing with the wild, silky strands. Anger boiled within her. _No one_ touched her hair without permission. She was ready to shove this girl over, raising her hands to strike-

"Calm down." Neon ordered softly.

And suddenly Yang was as calm as she had ever been, even though someone was just… touching her hair. Her arms dropped limply to her sides.

"Where'd you get your hair extensions?" Neon asked.

"This is… just my normal hair." Yang responded.

"Really?" Neon raised an eyebrow, as though she didn't believe her. "Guess you can't really lie to me, though, can you? Oh well, come on." Neon grabbed a fistfull of Yang's hair, then began tugging it along, forcing Yang to hurry after her to prevent it from tugging too hard. "We're going back to my place. It's time to party."


	17. Red Light: Chapter 2

Ruby Rose sighed as she checked her phone one last time. The sun was just barely beginning to peak over the horizon, but… still no new messages. The temptation to call was _strong,_ but there was a chance doing so could get them _both_ in trouble. Still, it _hurt_ to have waited for Yang at the park for _four hours, _and still not gotten so much as a text confirming that she was alright. Yang had _said_ she might be a bit late due to dinner with dad, and Ruby knew she had to let Yang live her life, but...

With only about a minute before the Wave of Dawn crashed over the city, Ruby fiddled with her suit lapels, and sent a ping Pyrrha's way.

"You know I can't help you." Pyrrha sent Ruby's way over soulsense, not bothering to send a full manifestation Ruby's way this time.

"I know you're not allowed to tell me where she is, or what she's doing, but… you _promised_ that I could protect her!" Ruby sent back. "You have to at _least_ tell me if she's alright!"

Ruby could _feel_ the conflict coming from Pyrrha over the line. Her desire to help warring against the laws put in place to limit the gods' direct influence over the world. But right now, Ruby couldn't care _less_ about the Free Will Accords.

"Yang is…" There was a painful, grating feeling coming in over the line. Like Pyrrha was trying to say something but physically _couldn't._ "...Not dead." Pyrrha eventually finished. "I'm sorry. That is _literally_ all that I am _capable_ of telling you."

"I understand." Ruby sent back, morose. "Thank you for trying."

"You'll find your way through this, little Rose." Pyrrha offered. "I believe in you. But dawn has come."

Immediately after Pyrrha finished, Ruby felt the dulled Wave of Dawn crash into the apartment's wards. With her soulsense, she could see the full force of the wave roll around outside the apartment, and she could see the wards weaken. The leyline the wards were built on would bring them back to full strength by tomorrow morning, but there was no magical solution to remove the hurt and worry that pooled in her heart. With a sigh, she made her way out of the apartment, onto the bus, and into the city to search out a new nest of demons.

It wasn't an exciting process. Her "day job" as it were, was mostly slowly walking around the city, carefully feeling out with her soulsense for the small gouges in the magical equilibrium demons left in their wake. She had to be mindful to avoid the deeper gouges of demons above the level considered "safe" for her to take on alone, and also to not confuse the weathered gouges of demons having passed through long ago with the fresher, sharper cuts left by more recent activity.

Further complicating matters was the way magic ebbed and flowed through the world. Leylines cut rivers of magic through the city. Swirling eddies formed around the deep craters that marked the locations of past traumas; the sort of negativity demons chose to feed upon. And yet, none of it truly flowed like water; rather, it was like a massive tapestry blanketing the world, moving _only_ up and down to simulate these watery motions.

In a lot of ways, it was a beautifully serene scene, one that, unfortunately, the living could not see. A working human body simply dampened one's soulsense too much. Ruby _wished_ she could show this to her sister… to give her another tool to calm herself down, to see how they were both connected - how they were _all_ connected. Forever linked to the universe so long as their souls survived.

But dwelling on Yang and her apparent disappearance only soured her mood. Still. Yang was alive. She knew that with the certainty of omniscience. Ruby just… had to let her live her life. Certainly, she had never been a fan of when _Yang_ had gotten too involved in her private business.

Even if… the most invasive instance of that ended up being the catalyst for the single biggest improvement in her short life.

But, again, she needed to stop dwelling on Yang. She was on the clock. It was time to do her job.

It was always frustrating how _slowly_ she had to go to get a good enough look at the magical equilibrium to track the bobbing surface markings that would lead her to the demons. Blake assured her that she'd _eventually_ get good enough at it to move along relatively fast and still take in all the information, but it was a harsh reminder that, while she was rather good at the _fighting_ part - benefits of having a police officer for a mother, a former martial arts instructor as a father, and a sister and uncle who had been taught to fight by what was effectively the mob - she was still very much a _novice_ at the job overall.

Sure, she'd have a few hundred or even _thousand_ years to truly master it, but right now she was focused on what was happening _now_.

And her worries about Yang were a potent distraction that she _still_ could not shake, forcing her to move even _more_ slowly. There was a lot of negativity in this part of town, and there had been for a long time. The fresh demon tracks were scattered among much, much older ones. Trying to sort it all out was making her head spin. She… probably wasn't going to find anything productive today.

Just after 8am, her phone rang, and she pulled it out immediately. She was slightly disappointed to see Blake calling, rather than Yang, but wasted no time in answering regardless.

"Please tell me you know where Yang is." Ruby said quickly.

"Oh." Blake sounded disappointed. "I was calling to see if _you_ knew."

"Oh." Ruby's unbeating heart dropped. "She didn't show up?"

"No. She's usually very punctual. I tried to call her a few times, but after the third attempt it started just going straight to voicemail. I'm worried something happened to her."

"Pyrrha…" Ruby sent towards the goddess, including her urgency and concern over the link.

"Still… not dead." Pyrrha sent back apologetically.

"Thanks…" Ruby sent to Pyrrha, before returning to the conversation with Blake. "Pyrrha says she's alive, at least. Hopefully her phone just died?"

"I'm not sure." Blake said. "I've got a bad feeling about this, and… magical intuition is usually worth trusting." There was a brief pause. "Wait… you were able to get some information from your _god?_ Did… did Pyrrha say 'alive' or '_not dead_'?"

"I didn't think there was a difference?" Ruby replied. "But it was the latter."

"Shit." Blake swore. "This could be _bad._ Ruby, I need you to try calling Yang. _Immediately._"

The panic in Blake's voice was contagious. Ruby ripped the phone away from her ear like it was made of hot lead, then ended the call and dialed Yang. The anticipation was _killing_ her, making her fumble with the buttons and take longer than expected for her shaking hands to complete the task.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

And rang.

"Yo!" Yang's voice came over the line. "You got Yang! Yeave a message after the yeep!"

Ruby's heart sank again, and she hung up before a message could be recorded, before calling Blake back.

"Hey-"

"It rang out." Ruby said morosely, cutting Blake off before she could finish her greeting.

"Mine went straight to voicemail." Blake said. "She… must have blocked me then. Or someone who has her phone did."

"She wouldn't do that, though!" Ruby defended. "She's not that type of person!"

"I know." Blake said softly. "Which means… if her phone _wasn't_ stolen - which seems unlikely given that she's made no alternate attempts to contact us despite her having a magical method of doing so - she… probably got caught up with either vampires or the Fae. And we'd best pray it's not the latter."

"We _need_ to find her! I'll be right over to-" Ruby began.

"No." Blake cut her off. "You know the rules, I know it's difficult for you, but you're still on the clock, and in your probationary period. But don't worry, _I_ will do everything I can to find her in the meantime. I'll get in touch with my Fae contacts… do you happen to have any of Yang's hair or anything?"

"N-No?" Ruby squeaked. "Should I?"

There was a heavy sigh from Blake's side of the line.

"Should probably consider it in the future, but… I do have her address. If push comes to shove, I can sneak in and grab some."

"But I know the layout!l It'd be easier if I-"

"No, Ruby." Blake cut her off. "It's not worth you getting caught by your father or uncle, and I know we'd _both_ rather not wait until sundown to get started. _I_ will do it. And we _will_ find Yang by tonight, okay?"

"Okay." Ruby said, swallowing back the thickness of her throat. "Okay."

"Be safe, Ruby. I'll talk to you tonight."

Blake hung up.

And given her somewhat realized fears? Ruby made even _slower_ progress than before.

It was going to be a _very_ long day.


	18. Red Light: Chapter 3

Blake Belladonna was getting frustrated.

Information _never_ came cheaply from the Fae, so given that she had traded in such expensive favors and yet had _nothing_ to show for it? That was _infuriating._ Sure, she was still waiting on a few sources that were actively continuing to search, but they were the least likely to come back with anything. Really, she had only gone to them to be thorough.

So it was time to steal something traceable of Yang's, and hair was the obvious choice. The only problem is… it would be absolutely _useless_ if Yang had been sucked into a Faerie Bubble, but she'd already had all the major, local ones searched. And if you could bet on anything with the Fae, purchased information was _true._

So it was worth risking a wild goose chase in the extremely unlikely event that it wouldn't actually be helpful.

And it wasn't like she was doing this _just_ for Ruby's sake. Blake would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she'd grown rather fond of Yang in the time she'd known her. Yang was someone who had experienced _so_ much pain so _very_ young, and instead of turning it into hate and spite, had turned it into strength, even if she didn't really know how strong she _was._ Despite her stumbles, she'd never given up on trying to seek out the best in the world, for both herself and her sister. It was, in a lot of ways, inspiring.

And then there was the way the room lit up when she smiled, her unhesitant empathy and observant nature. Her sharp wit and her terrible jokes. Her quick thinking and unique perspectives.

And yes, she was also _very_ attractive.

But that last thought was rather unprofessional, so Blake pushed it out of her mind.

The point was, Blake really liked Yang… a-as a person! Cared about her a lot. Wanted her to succeed. Even if she _hadn't_ been her mentee's sister - and Blake rather liked Ruby as well, so Ruby's peace of mind would have been motivation enough on its own - Blake would have acted to ensure Yang's safety.

And as Blake approached the Xiao Long's apartment, she found herself really appreciating Yang's forthcoming honesty in their sessions. It was easy to identify the window into Yang's room that she always left unlocked in order to sneak in and out of.

Blake carefully slid the window open. It opened quietly, as though it was freshly greased. As silently as she could, she stepped up onto the sill, and climbed in. As she shifted her weight forward to step back down into the room, the frame let out a quiet squeak. Blake froze.

"Yang? Is that you?" A weary male voice came in, muffled, through the adjacent wall. "Oh honey _please_ tell me you're home."

Blake had two options. She could stay, and try her luck, risking detection… or she could play it safe, leave, and come back later.

Shifting into Soul Form, she chose both. Simultaneously.

One Blake rolled silently into the room, then immediately began tracing out the glyphs for an invisibility spell. The other Blake fled out the window, hiding around the corner.

If the Blake in the room _did_ get caught, she'd just recombine into the _other_ body. With all evidence of her presence erased, whoever caught her would probably just assume they were seeing things. But she still prefered to not get caught at all.

She drew as fast as she could. Between her soulsense and heightened hearing, she could tell that Taiyang Xiao Long was rapidly approaching at a swift jogging pace.

"Yang?" Tai asked, stopping just short of the door, and listening carefully. "Yang, I'm… I'm coming in. Tell me if that's not okay."

He waited just a second for a reply before the doorknob began turning.

It was _just_ in time for Blake to finish the spell. She activated it on herself, shattered the floating glyphs with a wave of her hand, then silently pressed herself up against the wall, holding as still as she _possibly_ could. The problem with invisibility spells was… they didn't quite hide motion.

"Yang!" He said as he entered. "I was _so_ worried when you didn't make it home for din… ner."

The hopeful expression Tai had carried into the room disappeared as he found it unoccupied by his daughter. The family resemblance was strong. He had the same wild blond hair, the same muscular frame, even eerily similar eyes, where the only difference was the hue.

But he looked _terrible._

His eyes were puffy and red, as though he had been crying recently. The heavy bags under his eyes implied that he hadn't slept. He looked like a man at the end of his rope. What Blake wouldn't have given to take a peek at Mercury's notes from their therapy sessions…

...Which wouldn't have been professional. Or even strictly legal. But she only had Yang's version of events, where Yang had often felt as though he'd abandoned her _just_ as much as her mother and her egg donor.

Experience had taught her that there was always more to the story than what could be learned from a single source.

Tai's shoulders sagged as he let out a deep, drawn out sigh, taking a several seconds long eternity to finish exhaling. Shuffling his feet as though they were weighted down with lead, he made his way over to the window.

"I could have sworn this was closed." He said, shaking his head. "Taiyang, your mind must finally be going. Guess you still had _one_ thing in life left to lose." He carefully pressed on the front of the windowsill, replicating the quiet, distinctive squeak Blake had made during her entrance. "Must have been a cat or something."

With another heavy sigh, Tai closed the window, turned around, and slid down into a seated position underneath it, with his knees pulled in close to his chest.

Just _inches_ from where Blake was pressed up, immobile against the wall.

"I just… I wish you had told me what I did wrong, this time." Tai said. "I know I haven't been the best father… I _know_ I messed up. No one knows that better than I do, but… I thought I was finally starting to patch things up. That I… that I could finally be the father you _deserved._ I was doing better and… you were letting me in more. So… what did I do this time? What did I do _wrong?_ Why did you just… _leave_ without… without…"

Words seemed to fail Tai as he tried to fight back sobs. He was clearly trying his best to remain stoic. But he was also clearly failing. This continued for a few long, _long_ minutes.

The Blake that was inside continued to hold as still as she possibly could. Being invisible was never a fun experience.

The Blake that was _outside_ was also having a miserable experience, as she fought off an army of gnats. She should have brought some bug spray.

Eventually Tai's sobbing slowed, and he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

With her enhanced Soul Form hearing and close proximity, Blake could _easily_ hear both sides of the conversation.

After a few rings, a gruff, scratchy male voice answered.

"Hey Tai. She come back yet?"

"No, Qrow. She… hasn't. Not since she briefly snuck in around midnight. I'm getting really worried about her."

"Like I said last night, she's probably just getting some teenage rebellion out of her system. And it's about time."

"Qrow!" Tai groaned. "She's not a teenager! She's twenty! And she's never done it before!"

"All the more reason for her to finally experience it." Qrow said. "I mean, we sure hadn't given up on it at her age."

"Qrow…" Tai warned.

"Look, it's okay, Tai. I've long since come to terms with the fact that you were more interested in my sister than me. It… doesn't bother me anymore. But you can't deny we were _all_ living it up!"

"Qrow! Please!"

"Point is, Tai, she's no longer got the pressure of responsibility on her. She's got more freedom to explore and learn than she ever had before, and as she recovers and starts taking control of her life again… well, we shouldn't be surprised if she _does._ Now, I don't mean to say that Ry-"

"Ruby!" Tai pointedly and exasperatedly corrected.

"Ruby." Qrow said. "Ruby… Ruby… dammit, I'm sorry. I'm _trying,_ but I've got years of built in reactions to get out of my system, and this ol' bird ain't the best at learning new tricks." Qrow let out a deep sigh of his own. "I… really wish I could have spent more time around her, after she started transition. Have some actual memories of her… as she always wanted to be. I wish I'd have… I never should have taken that-"

"Qrow." Tai cut him off. "Please. I'd rather not… not start crying again."

"Y-Yeah. You're right." Qrow sighed again. "Look, I can tell you're worried about Yang. Are you _certain_ she didn't leave anything behind to tip you off on where she went?"

"Like I said, whatever she came to get, happened to be one of the things she kept hidden." Tai sighed, before standing up. "And I don't like invading my daughters' privacy, so I have no idea what that might have been." Tai looked around the room, before his eyes settled on Yang's desk. "I guess she's got these… weird circle drawings sitting out on her desk that I haven't seen before, but I have no idea what _that_ could mean."

"Weird circle drawings?" Qrow's voice was wary. "What do you mean? Can you describe them?"

"They're just…" Tai looked at them more closely. "It's big circles, with a series of smaller circles drawn inside of them. Looks kind of like a bullseye. Except all the little lines around the edges."

"Little lines?" Qrow asked, with growing concern. "Like, tick marks, triangles, and boxes?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that." Tai paused. "Qrow, you know something. What does it mean? Is this _Branwen_ stuff?"

"N-No!" Qrow wavered. "I mean, well not exactly. I mean, it's something I learned about while I was running with them…"

"Fuck! It _is_ a Branwen thing!"

"No, Tai, it's not. Calm down. It's… it'll be fine, but I know where to start looking. _Don't worry,_ Tai. I _will_ find her. It's not that big of a deal and it doesn't mean the Branwens have anything to do with it. You and I both know she doesn't _like_ them. Now… what about you? You been taking care of yourself this morning? Did you eat breakfast?"

"N-No…" Tai stammered.

"Go get yourself some. Or… I guess brunch at this point. You'll be able to do more to help on a full stomach, okay?"

"O-Okay." Tai began to leave the room, turning around to give it one last hopeful, yet forlorn look.

Once again, all he saw was an unoccupied room.

Then he closed the door.

And Blake was alone once more.

Blake took a nice, deep breath, then let it out slowly, stepping away from the wall and rolling her joints. They didn't have blood flowing through them, but it still _felt_ nice. She silently made her way to the desk, shaking her head at the papers with spells and glyphs scattered across their surfaces. She made a mental note to lecture Yang on the importance of keeping her magical paraphernalia better secured. Especially since it seemed her uncle _might_ just be magically aware. Even so, he still wasn't supposed to know about Ruby, and if he inadvertently learned about her through Yang…

Well, it was a mess best left avoided.

There was also a pencil, with a tangle of white hair wrapped around it, and… ah-ha! A hairbrush!

Not one, but three hairbrushes, in fact. Each of varying aggressiveness in its bristles. And each clearly got _heavy_ use. There was probably enough hair here _right now_ to make the gloves Yang wanted.

Blake carefully plucked a single strand, then looked over to the window.

It was best not to risk it again.

It was difficult, and required a _lot_ of concentration, but… she _could_ do it.

Blake closed her eyes. Both sets of them. Both Blakes adopted the _exact_ same stance, and she focused on the hair pinched between her fingers: the singular difference between them.

Both Blakes gave it _all_ of their focus.

And then…

There was just one.

Blake opened her eyes - the only set she had - and saw the open air of the outside. The hair was still plucked between her fingers. She quickly secured it, then pulled out her phone and called Ruby.

"Blake! Did you find Yang?" Ruby asked immediately.

"Not yet, but I have more information." Blake said. "She missed dinner with your father last night. Apparently snuck in and out sometime around midnight, but didn't tell him anything."

"That's… not good is it?" Ruby asked. "It doesn't really sound like her. She would have called me or something! Or _someone!_ She doesn't make plans without telling _someone._"

"It's not good." Blake confirmed. "My Fae contacts are coming up empty. We need to start considering vampires."

"Vampires… freaking vampires!" Ruby grumbled. "So… refresh my memory, since they haven't been a big part of my training. Vampires… are… a class of magical construct that's… a living body brought to life with an intact brain, but without a real soul, right?"

"Right." Blake confirmed. "They have what is called a pseudosoul; a spell designed to steal life force from living things with intact souls, and keep them functioning in place of a real soul. It also includes some extras to make sure it can survive, so they're more like us in Soul Form than base."

"Right. And if they completely drain the soul out of someone, they can replace it with a copy of their pseudosoul?"

"Yeah. It's usually how they spread. Unfortunately, they have a treaty with the gods, which keeps us from going after them. Officially."

"Shit! So what do we do?" Ruby asked. "I'm not saying I _want_ to start a war over my sister, but… I'm also not saying I'm unwilling."

"That won't be necessary." Blake shook her head, smiling slightly. "We can't go after them as part of our duties, or 'just because', but there are exceptions for self defense… and personal grudges. And I'd say this _is_ personal, wouldn't you?"

"Extremely." Ruby confirmed. "How long do we have before they… uh…"

"Don't worry, Ruby." Blake said. "A strong soul like Yang's would take _years,_ maybe even _decades,_ for a single vampire to drain completely. But…" Blake sighed. Ruby wouldn't want to hear this. "There are… signs that she might have been… enthralled. Some varieties of vampire can do that. She's… probably already been forced to do some things she doesn't want to. The longer we take, the more likely it is that one or more of those things are… traumatic to her. And it's not like she'll just forget it, so we definitely don't want to take too long."

"Did you get one of her hairs?" Ruby asked. "I can be right over, we'll-"

"No, Ruby, you _can't._ You're on duty. And you won't be much help to Yang in the long term if you get forsaken and the gods stop letting you _come back._"

"But-"

"Ilia, give me strength." Blake mumbled. "Ruby, I _have_ it. I'll meet you in front of the apartment the _instant_ the sun goes down, and we'll find her. _Together._ But I need you to hang in there for a few hours." She didn't mention how grueling that wait would be for her, as well.

"But what if your last patient goes overtime? _Again?_"

"Ruby, I swear to you, I _will_ be there. I'll put on a hat and send a copy ahead if I have to."

"You'd better, Blake!" Ruby said. "If anything happens to her, I swear… I don't think I'll be able to stop myself."

"If that happens, Ruby?" Blake said. "Count on me to be right there along with you, helping."


	19. Red Light: Chapter 4

**Hey Everyone! It's been my policy not to do notes on FFN, but this is **important**. Due to upcoming content, hinted at starting in this chapter, I've changed this story's rating from "Teen" to "**Mature**". I apologize if you go invested in this story with the ****expectation**** that it wouldn't cross this line, but this is where my muse has taken me, and I will be adjusting the rating to fit the story, rather than trying to shoehorn the story into a rating. No, this does not mean this story will start including smut or anything, just elements considered a bit too much for a "Teen" story. If you'd like more information on this, I recommend looking into the version on AO3 (Archive of Our Own), where I do include notes with each chapter. In the meantime, this note will be removed in a few weeks, once I feel satisfied that the regular readers all are aware of this change, and aren't caught too off guard by it.**

**Thank you. I now return you to your regularly (****un)****scheduled story.**

The _instant_ the sun went down, Ruby Rose took off.

Sure, she wasn't _that_ far from the apartment - she'd been edging her way towards it the entire time she was "working" - but given the potential danger her sister was in? Ruby pushed her superspeed as hard as she possibly could.

She wasn't supposed to do it so _openly,_ but desperate times and all that. Besides, all the people on the street would see would be a red blur; they'd probably chalk it up to a crazy asshole going _way_ too fast on a souped up motorcycle. Granted, she wasn't aware of a non-magical person - let alone the motorcycle itself - that could survive the G-Forces behind making a hairpin turn at around 270 miles per hour.

And it was a good thing she retained such a high degree of magical maneuverability. Enhanced Soul Form durability or not, if she collided with something at this speed, it would end her time on this world _far_ more dramatically than the first time she died.

Honestly, at this speed, it didn't even feel like _running_ anymore. She felt more like an angry comet, streaking a few feet above the ground, scattering rose petals instead of ice crystals.

Which… probably had a lot to do with the fact that certain physical constraints, such as friction, seemed to be entirely irrelevant after she activated her superspeed. She'd even ran across the surface of a river, once.

Maybe with enough practice, she could eventually learn to just… run on air? Flying would be _incredible._

In the meantime, clearing the almost 3 miles between her starting position and the apartment in less than a minute was pretty incredible on its own.

True to her word, Blake was already there, with a black beret covering her cat ears.

"Couldn't get out on time?" Ruby asked.

Blake shook her head.

"Mrs. Cordoven is _still_ talking my ear off. I'm trying to get her to leave. She's... not impressed with my choice of headwear. Apparently her husband was a Green Beret. But at least she's finally talking about him."

Ruby guessed that the pained expression Blake wore here was because she had to wear a more polite mask back at the office.

"So…" Ruby shifted her weight, "do you have it?"

Blake nodded, and pulled a silver chain out of her pocket. Dangling at the end was an amethyst pendulum pendant, with a bright yellow hair wrapped tightly around it. It was already tugging gently towards the east.

"I already cast the spell." Blake said. "Let's get going."

"Alright," Ruby said, "hand me the pendant and hop on my back."

Blake shook her head.

"It won't work very well at the speeds you move at. It'll take too long to find her. But I have a plan." Blake pulled out a map, walked up to Ruby, and began pointing things out on it. "You can drop off clones of me here... and here. The tracking spell isn't the most accurate on its own, but with three points of reference, I can draw out almost exactly where she is on the map, and we can go straight there."

"Alright, good plan." Ruby said. "Hop on."

The Blake beside her nodded, and Ruby felt another Blake's weight climb onto her back, wrapping her legs around her waist and her arms around her neck.

In base form, it would have been rather unwieldy for Ruby to carry someone so much taller than her like this, but since she was in Soul Form, the extra weight hardly registered.

Still, she didn't go _quite_ full speed with a passenger on board. The extra weight hurt her maneuverability, and Blake was already split into three, which meant each part was at less than half strength. Accidentally breaking a Blake would cost them valuable time, and worse, leave Blake at reduced strength for a while… and if they were going to have a fight on their hands…

Well, they needed every advantage they could get.

Still, it took only seconds to reach the first intersection Blake had pointed out. Skidding to a stop, she felt a Blake push off of her back, without losing the weight she was already carrying. A quick glance told her that the extra Blake was fine, but now that she was in four different parts, Ruby elected to slow down even further.

Another painfully slow sprint to the second location, and the process repeated. Now there were five Blakes; the point where the combined strength of all Blake's copies started to get weaker than if there was just one of her. Sure, at a smidge under one fifth strength, Blake was still _much_ stronger than an average human, but in Ruby's superpowered hands, she felt… fragile.

The Blake on her back unfolded the map in front of her. Three pencil lines were actively tracing their way across the map; undoubtedly the work of the other Blakes. They converged at a single point, and Ruby's feet were already moving before she realized where, exactly, she was going.

"Really, the _docks?_" Ruby asked, trusting in Blake's sensitive hearing to understand her over the wind. "There's no way I would have overshot that!"

"Well, I didn't _know_ that!" Blake grumbled back. "How was I supposed to know how far east she was? If she was closer, you _would_ have overshot her!"

Ruby groaned, only half-focused on dodging the rush-hour traffic. When did dodging cars at 80 miles per hour with tall buildings zipping by on either side start to feel so painfully _slow_ to her?

"Blake, dismiss your clones so I can speed up!" Ruby grumbled.

"No, Ruby, what if they move her? We want to do this _right_ the first time, instead of going on a wild goose chase!"

"But I could have already been there!"

"Ruby, I'm just as worried as you are, but the right way to do things is _carefully._ Especially in our line of work! You want your soul to survive long enough to eventually meet your sister and mother in the afterlife, right?"

"I…" Ruby sighed. "Okay. You're right. I'm sorry."

Tense silence and rushing wind permeated the next two minutes. Given that the lines on Blake's map weren't being redrawn remotely, Ruby felt safe in assuming that Yang wasn't moving. Good. That'd make things easier.

As Ruby approached the docks, she felt Blake become a little bit more solid. She wasn't any heavier or anything, but when there were fewer clones, something about Blake felt more… substantial.

The map disappeared, and Blake tapped her shoulder. Ruby took this as a signal to skid to a stop, and Blake hopped off.

"Are you at full strength?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. Finally shoo'ed Cordo out. A mere 15 minutes overtime." Blake let out an exasperated sigh as the beret disappeared into shadows. "But we probably want to go in quiet. Don't want to scare them away."

"I was thinking the same." Ruby nodded. "They shouldn't know we're coming, but…" she gave an uneasy half-smile, "The right way to do things is carefully, after all."

"Good to know you're still listening to me." Blake mussed her hair in an imitation of Yang, causing Ruby to squirm back. "Don't worry. It _will_ be okay. We're going to get Yang out of this safely. Any enthrallment will probably crumble the _instant_ she's told to be anything other than friendly to you."

Ruby took a deep breath.

"Okay. Not a big deal. Just going in like big damn heroes to save my sister. Quietly."

Blake nodded, then gestured for Ruby to follow her up onto a stack of shipping containers. Ruby followed, doing her best to do so silently. The extra hearing and enhanced reaction speeds were a valuable asset in keeping their noise levels down, but still, she wasn't exactly silent. Blake was probably making about as much noise as a mouse would have made scrambling along the metal surfaces, but Ruby? The noise of her footfalls still seemed cacophonous, even if the noises were almost certainly drowned out by crashing waves and containers creaking in the wind.

She was stealthy _enough,_ but Blake made it seem like an art form.

Following the pendant in Blake's hand, they made their way to the edge of the docks, and an excitable feminine voice got steadily louder, clearly caring nothing for stealth.

"And then you were, like, 'Do you have any idea who my mom is? Leave!' and that one guy was all 'noooo, I'mma try to be a hero!' But then you were like, 'Bam!' and you fired that warning shot and I _swear_ he crapped himself! He must not have known who your mom is. I mean, I don't either, but those other guys seemed really _scared,_ so I guess she must be some kind of big wig somewhere-"

Blake suddenly stopped ahead of her, crouching low against the top of the container. Ruby followed suit, peering over the edge and taking a look. What she saw made her heart skip a beat: _Yang._

But something was off. Yang was… remarkably relaxed, despite having her shotgun hoisted over her shoulder. Yang was _never_ that comfortable around guns. Always approached them with a level of awestruck discipline. Not like she was… a schoolgirl looking at her crush or something.

Ruby followed Yang's half-lidded eyes, and her blood boiled at what she saw. Soulsense told her that there was something _very_ unnatural about this person - this woman who had been talking the whole time. She must have been the one who abducted Yang. The one who was… puppeting her along like this. The _vampire_. Ruby tensed. She wanted to grab her by those stupid pigtails and smash her around like-

Blake's hand was suddenly on her shoulder, and she gave Ruby a look. _Not yet._ It said silently. Ruby nodded back.

"-anyway, all I'm saying is, you were incredible tonight, babe." The vampire approached Yang, and threw her arms around her shoulders. "Best pet I've ever had. Can't wait to figure out what _else_ you can do. All this excitement has made me… _hungry._"

The vampire forcefully pulled Yang into a kiss, and with the wave of nausea and revulsion Ruby felt at the idea of her sister being _forced_ into something like that against her will… Ruby couldn't stop herself. To _hell_ with the consequences.

"Get the _hell_ away from my sister!" Ruby shouted as she _flew_ across the docks, slowing down _just_ enough that she didn't turn her fist into paste as she punched the vampire away from Yang. Her whole arm still _throbbed_ under the amount of force, but the vampire had it worse as she skipped off the concrete twice before slamming into a metal shipping container.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted, horrified, from where they'd been hiding, but Ruby ignored her.

"Come on, Yang! Snap out of it!" Ruby said as she tugged gently on her sister's hand, but her expression only seemed to grow more vacant.

"What the hell? _Reapers?!_" The vampire snarled. "There's a treaty in place! You can't do shit! Get the fuck out of here!"

"I don't care what you think I can or can't do!" Ruby shouted back. "I'm not going to let you hurt my sister! This is _personal!_"

"_Hurt_ her?" The vampire laughed. "No, no, no. You got it all wrong! She _likes_ it! She's into it! Aren't you, Yang?"

"Yes, mistress." Yang said with a hint of wistfulness.

"I didn't even ask her to call me that outside the bedroom." The vampire whispered conspiratorially, adding in a wink.

"I… what?" Ruby asked, looking back and forth between them, confused. "No, you _did_ something to her!" The panic within her was growing. "Release her, or I'll make certain you don't live long enough to regret it!"

Another laugh from the vampire, and Ruby was vaguely aware of Blake's distantly approaching footsteps.

"You can't do _shit._" The vampire said, grabbing an armful of small boxes. "Especially not with _her_ here. I know your 'rules'. Yang, honey? Take care of these pests! Kill them if you can. Don't let them chase me. Find your way back home when you're done."

"Yes, mistress." Yang said, swinging the shotgun into a firing position.

Blake's footsteps increased pace to a full sprint.

"Yang! Please! It's me, Ruby!" She said as Yang pointed the shotgun _directly_ at her.

"Sit down, shut up, and don't move." Yang said, eyes watering and pain evident in her voice. This was it. This is what it would take to break whatever weird mind control Yang was under. Ruby would just stand her ground, give the real Yang something to fight for. She took a step forward. Yang would _never-_

There was a deafening "bang" as something shoved Ruby out of the way. She turned to see Blake standing next to where she had been, chest torn open by the close-range blast from the shotgun. She stumbled, grasped at her bleeding chest, looked Yang in the eyes, her ears pinned down and her expression full of betrayal. Then she fell, vanishing into shadow before she could hit the ground.

Ruby swallowed thickly as she dashed off to find cover, eyes welling with tears.

Apparently, Yang _would._


	20. Red Light: Chapter 5

**Just a reminder that this story's rating has been updated from "Teen" to "Mature".**

0+-+-+-+0

Yang Xiao Long rhythmically drummed her fingers on the table. She had a package tucked under one arm, and was looking up its return address on her phone with the other.

It was a pharmacy.

She heard the door creak open, and her brother grumbling something about the mailman.

"I already grabbed it, Rye-rye." Yang called back towards the entry, using her best "mom" voice.

Her brother was as white as a sheet when he stepped into the kitchen.

"Hey, sis." Ryan squeaked, playing with the hem of his old, red hoodie. "You're home early."

"My last class for the day got canceled." Yang offered nonchalantly, not taking her eyes off of her brother.

"Well, it's good to see you." Ryan shifted uneasily, glancing back and forth between her and the package under her arm. "Was there anything for me?" He was trying his best to hide the tension in his voice.

"That depends." Yang said, flipping her phone face down on the table, lilac eyes locked onto grey. "Ryan, where do we get all your medications from?"

There was more uneasy shifting as Ryan rubbed his right arm with his left.

"The… uh… the drugstore on the corner?"

"Mmmhmm." Yang set the package on the table, leaned over it, then linked her fingers under her chin. "So why would some random pharmacy in _Thailand_ be sending mail to you?"

"Well uh… you see…" Ryan lightly bit his lip, causing Yang to glare, and the lie died before it came out. "I didn't know if dad would let me get these ones." Ryan pulled out a chair and slumped into it, defeated.

"Oh Rye-rye…" Yang's expression shifted to concern as she reached a hand across the table. "I know you don't have a lot of friends, but take it from the cool kid: getting high isn't going to help you get more."

"That's not what they're for." Ryan sighed as he covered his face. "They're… they're so I can be _me._"

Yang raised her eyebrow, and tried to read between the lines.

"Rye-rye, you're plenty creativite! You don't need to get high to be an art-"

"That's not - They're not for getting high!" Ryan shouted, punctuating the sentence by slamming his hand down on the table. Then, he quietly added: "That's not what they're for at all."

Both siblings froze as a tense silence filled the room, Ryan wilting under Yang's glare. It remained unbroken until Ryan continued in a whisper.

"I'm supposed to be a…" His breath hitched, and he shuddered, before looking up with watering grey eyes and finishing with more conviction. "No, I _am_ a girl."

Yang tried to suppress her laugh at the absurdity of the situation, she really did, but it came out deep, from the belly, and she was unable to stop until she noticed Ryan shrinking back on himself, hiding in his hoodie.

"You're joking, right?" Yang asked as the giggles subsided.

"No." Ryan painfully choked out, pulling the drawstrings on his hoodie tighter. "I was afraid that… I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Ryan, sweetie…" Yang offered, going for the soothing version of mom voice. "That's not how it works. You're a guy. Always have been, always will be. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's just how you were born."

"Then I was born wrong." Ryan said quietly from deep within the recesses of his hoodie.

This called for more effective comforting. Yang abandoned the package as she rounded the table, and wrapped her brother in a big hug.

Or, well, she tried to. For the first time ever, Ryan flinched away from her, and her heart broke as she watched the little sobs shudder their way out of the crimson fortress.

"You weren't born wrong, Rye-rye." Yang felt her own eyes watering. "You're perfect just the way you are."

"No I'm not." Ryan wailed pitifully. "That's what I need those for. I need them to be me… because I'm… because I'm trans."

"What, a transexual?" Yang scoffed. "Like those weirdos on TV?"

"Trans_gender_." Ryan insisted. "And _we're_ not weirdos. We're just... people."

"Okay, but…" Yang sighed. She was reeling from this. Her mind scrambled to put the pieces together, but none of them seemed to click into place. Either way, it seemed to be bothering Ryan. A lot. She needed to get to the bottom of it. "It just… it doesn't make sense. You're into cars. And mechanics. And guns. And videogames. Those aren't girly things."

"Does that make you a boy?" Ryan asked, turning to face her, one eye peering out of the tiny opening of the hoodie. "You're into videogames too. And motorcycles, and MMA…"

"Fair point." Yang said, looking away. "But still… I know you so well… or… I thought I did! I've been doing everything I can to look out for you after mom…" Yang's voice hitched, "to make _sure_ you were… there weren't any signs! Or, at least, none that I ever saw…"

"Were you looking?" Ryan asked, shifting to face her a little better.

"I guess not…"

"Well, you might not have found them if you were." Ryan let out a shuddering breath, slumping into the chair. "I was… I was trying to hide them. For a while? Even from myself."

Yang went for a hug again, and this time was not rebuffed.

"So… um… how do you _know_, then?" She asked, calmly petting the back side of his hoodie. She wouldn't be able to figure this out, to know how to actually _solve_ the problem, without knowing how he was approaching the matter.

Ryan shuddered for a bit before tensing. Whether he was steeling himself for a hard conversation, or preparing to flee, Yang couldn't be sure.

"I… Kinda always knew I wanted to be a girl." Ryan took a deep breath before continuing. "But… I also knew I wasn't _supposed_ to want to, y'know?"

Yang nodded, continuing to pet and indicating that it was safe for Ryan to continue. She wasn't going to give him any reason to feel like he had to run away from this.

"So I… I tried to convince myself that I didn't want it. I tried _so hard,_ Yang. Tried to make it just… go away. To be happy with what I had. But... so, _so _many mornings, I'd just… wake up, and I'd be really disappointed that I didn't just… magically transform into one overnight."

"So what changed?" Yang asked. There were many other questions she _wanted_ to ask, but she also knew she needed to let Ryan explain on _his_ terms.

"Well, I uh…" Ryan swallowed. "I went online. And, like, you know how 'nobody knows you're a dog on the internet', right? So I… found a place to hang out and… if people asked, I told them I was... a cute girl with wolf ears and a tail."

"Oooh-kaaay." Yang drew out the word, failing to hide her discomfort with the idea. Was Ryan also a furry now? Was this place more… adult in nature? What _exactly_ had these people been convincing her baby brother of?

Questions for the end, she told herself.

Ryan squirmed a bit under her, but didn't shake out of the embrace.

"So… one day, things… happened." Ryan sighed. "I was feeling really down in the dumps, and I ended up telling them I wasn't really a girl… just that I… wished I was. And… I was terrified! I thought they'd hate me for it, y'know? But instead, they were just like 'well, if you wanna be a girl, you already are one' and I was all like 'whaaa?' because I… um… I had a lot of the same reservations as…" Ryan's voice dropped into a more despondent territory, "well, the same reservations you have."

Yang nodded and tightened her embrace. Guilt fought against her more protective instincts. Was Ryan _afraid_ of her? The shuddering he was doing in her embrace made her feel like… like she'd done something wrong.

"And then I found out that a lot of the people there were… like me. Trans." Ryan continued. "I talked to them, and... the more I did, the more I had in common with them. I learned that… the stereotypes aren't really accurate. That most of us, y'know… try to be what society says we gotta be. That no one really wants to be trans and I…" There was a particularly violent shudder and a loud sniffle from under the hoodie. "I learned that… that they were happier, after they stopped trying to fake it for everyone else's approval. And I learned that… that you could just try it out. And… it'd take a long time to be permanent, so if I didn't like it, I could just… stop."

"So… this is you trying it?" Yang asked softly. "With shady drugs from Thailand?"

There was a heavy, shuddering sigh from under the hoodie.

"It's not… I'm already past that point. I tried it and… I don't _just_ like it…" Ryan pushed her back a bit, so he could look her in the eye through the opening again. "Yang… I _need_ it."

"You're addicted." Yang confirmed quietly. This was going to be difficult. Moreso than it had already been.

"No, Yang!" Ryan emphatically shook his head, voiced pained. "It's not an addiction! It's… I just… I can't go back to being so… numb. For the first time in my life I'm feeling how _normal _people feel and I… I just… p-please don't… don't take..."

Ryan hiccuped, and Yang pulled him back into the embrace as the sobs overtook him. They sat like that for a long time.

Minutes passed, leaving Yang alone with her thoughts, Ryan shuddering and shaking underneath her chin. This was affecting him. Terrifying him. Even hurting him, it seemed. Yang never wanted to hurt him! She didn't know what to do! She kept trying to figure out what went wrong; where she failed. What could she have done to keep him from feeling the need to go down this path? What should she have done to keep him _happy?_

And she couldn't stop the words that kept forcefully echoing through her head:

"You have to promise me you'll take care of your little brother for me, okay? While I'm gone?"

It was a promise that had long ago been etched deep into the very fabric of her heart. Its meaning could _not_ be changed.

She _had_ to take care of her little brother.

No.

The meaning couldn't change, but the wording _could._

She had to take care of her little _sister._

It wasn't an easy shift to make but…

Here, Ryan had poured his - no, her - heart out to her, and even if she couldn't understand it, she couldn't just… reject that, could she? If treating Ryan like a girl was what it took to make her happy? To make this obvious pain stop? She _had_ to do that, right? She wouldn't knowingly hurt her… sister. She _couldn't._

But she still needed to be the adult in this situation, even if she'd only recently turned 19. Someone had to be.

"I'm not going to take them away from you, okay?" She said, hugging her sister close. "But… if you're gonna do this, you're gonna do this the right way. We're gonna go through real doctors, okay?"

"But… then, I have to tell dad." More trembling from under the hoodie. "I don't… I don't think he's going to take it well."

"Well," Yang gave a squeeze. "I'll be with you every step of the way, okay, Ryan? I'm here for you, no matter what. If you… being a girl is what it takes to make you happy? If… if trying to be a boy is _hurting_ you? Dad… dad will understand. I'll _make_ him understand, if I have to. Don't worry. I've got you, okay?"

She could feel her nodding softy against her shoulder, relaxing for just a bit before the tension returned.

"Could you maybe… call me Ruby?"

"Is... that what you want your name to be?"

There was another nod.

"Okay." Yang took a deep breath, and continued deliberately. "Ruby." Yang squeezed tighter. "My _sister._"

0+-+-+-+0


	21. Red Light: Chapter 6

**Final reminder that this story's rating has been updated to Mature. When the next chapter is posted, these notes will be removed.**

Ruby Rose slammed her back into the shipping container, breathing hard for reasons that had nothing to do with physical exertion. She'd initially _tried_ to chase after the fleeing Vampire, but the warning sprays of hot buckshot from Yang's shotgun had successfully corralled her back into the direction she'd come from. Yang seemed less willing to waste ammunition on her the further she was from that vampiric _bitch,_ and Ruby was quite happy for a moment of respite.

Still… it was curious that none of the blasts had actually _hit_ her, even partially. Yang was… usually a better shot than this.

Maybe the weird mind-control stuff wasn't letting her operate at full capacity?

"We _need_ to find some way to disarm her."

Ruby yelped in surprise at the suddenness of Blake's voice beside her, nearly leaping out of her cover. She felt her ears pin back and clutched her chest as she looked back to her mentor, whose ears were similarly pinned back.

"Did you… not know I was here?" Blake asked cautiously.

"I watched you die!" Ruby cried out.

Blake shook her head.

"You watched a clone of mine die. I thought you chose this stack of containers because you knew the rest of me was here?"

"Uh…" Ruby glanced back and forth furtively, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She shoved her emotions down; there would be time to be hurt later. Right now, she needed to save her sister. Fortunately, she had a _lot_ of experience pretending everything was fine. "Crazy random happenstance? T-Thanks for saving me, by the way."

"It _is_ my job, as your mentor, to make sure you don't die." Blake rolled her eyes, before her shoulders drooped and she began rubbing her arm. "I'm… sorry. I know I said she'd snap out of it before it came to this, but… something felt wrong. Neon must have done a real number on her… That's why I tried to stop you from rushing in."

Ruby thumped the back of her head against the container behind her.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." Ruby closed her eyes for a bit, letting the gears spin and fighting back her emotions before cracking an eye open again in Blake's direction. "Who's Neon?"

"The girl you punched." Blake answered. "She's… one of the more powerful ones in the area, but I didn't even _consider_ her because she can only have one thrall at a time and Yang said she was…" Blake took a deep breath, leaving the thought unfinished. "_Shit._"

"It's not your fault, Blake. It's _hers._" Ruby exhaled slowly. "Do we have to get to her to free Yang?"

Blake shook her head.

"No, it wouldn't make a difference. Even if Neon were to _die,_ her type of enthrallment would remain intact. We have to find a way to snap Yang out of it. I'm… still not sure how Neon affected her _so_ much in such a short period. Yang's strong! She should have…" Blake shuddered. "_I_ should have… taught her to protect herself. I just didn't think it was likely enough to worry about."

"Hey, hindsight is twenty-twenty, right?" Ruby reached over to place a hand on Blake's shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for this, alright?"

Blake let out an uneasy chuckle.

"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that? I'm the therapist, here."

"Aw… it's alright, Blake." Ruby reached up to muss Blake's hair, as revenge for earlier.

Blake laughed shakily and tried to slap her hand away, but weakened as she was, it wasn't very effective.

"I won't tell Dr. Fall." Ruby finished.

It sounded quite a bit sadder than Ruby meant it. She was trying to _suppress_ her emotions, darn it!

"Right." Blake sighed. "So, back to the point. How do we disarm her?"

"Do we actually _have_ to?" Ruby asked. "Maybe there's a way to fix it without doing that?"

"I mean…" Blake shifted uneasily. "Since Neon ordering her to attack you wasn't enough to break it, the best, easiest alternative is going to be using a counterspell, but we'll need her to hold still for a hot minute for that to work. Next easiest is going to be enraging her. Like, not just angry, but truly _enraged._ But... given that she'd still be _really_ pissed off at that point, we don't want her holding a shotgun when that happens. We could also keep her from getting back to Neon, and letting a few sunrises wipe it away, but that'd take too long, and we'd still have to worry about Neon herself. Last option is severe emotional or head trauma, but…" Blake trailed off.

"No." Ruby finished for her. "We're not doing that to her. We're going to save her _without_ hurting her!"

"Much." Blake added under her breath.

Ruby shot her a look.

"What?" Blake asked. "She's _fighting_ us! It'd be unrealistic to assume she won't take _any_ hits!"

Ruby's look didn't waver.

"Okay, look, how about this?" Blake said. "Yang's immune to fire, right? We just… set her on fire, make it hot enough to damage her weapons so she can't use them, and then she'll come out no worse for wear!.. If a little… underdressed." Blake's cheeks reddened.

"She's immune to fire, right? Not explosions?" Ruby asked, and Blake nodded. "We try that, we'll cook off all her ammo, and that _will_ kill her."

"Right…" Blake slumped a bit.

"And… I probably can't fight her in Soul Form." Ruby continued quietly. "She's tough, but she isn't invincible. I don't think I can keep enough control to avoid hurting her."

Blake nodded.

"That's why there's a rule against fighting normal humans in Soul Form. Even the more experienced Reapers have trouble holding back."

"Right, so… we'll just have to stick to being… normal-ish humans." Ruby sighed. "No superpowers. That means Yang is absolutely going to wipe the floor with us…" She shook her head. "At least if she kills us in base form, we can just… come back."

"Yeah." Blake swallowed. "You should do that."

"What?" Ruby asked, looking over to her mentor. "You say that like you won't be."

"I… can't." Blake sighed. "Until I've recharged from losing a clone, I'm stuck in Soul Form. I guess I'll… I'll have to split up, lower my strength. With... seven of me, I'll be about as strong as you, so I shouldn't hurt her. Plus, I can act as extra eyes and ears for you, and add magical support."

"Okay. That'll be helpful." Ruby let her Soul Form drop, and the world deadened around her. "I'll just… have to find a way to disarm her, and then you can rush in and hold her down or something."

"I don't know that I'll be enough…" Blake shook her head. "Yang is… strong. And I'm honestly not that experienced with fighting _people._ I can _try, _but…"

"Aw, don't give me that, Blake! You're, like, totally a ninja! You can do it!"

Blake shook her head again.

"Surely _someone_ taught you to fight!" Ruby continued. "Weren't you in a gang or something before you died?"

Blake gave her a flat look.

"I was their bookkeeper."

Ruby tilted her head slightly.

"Gangs have bookkeepers?"

"Yes." Was all Blake offered in answer.

There was a beat as Ruby tried to figure out if Blake was messing with her or not, but her mentor's expression remained deadly serious.

"Shit." Ruby swore under her breath, banging her head into the container again. "She might actually be able to beat seven of you."

"Yes." Blake nodded. "And if it's all the same to you? I'd rather not risk oblivion."

"Okay." Ruby swallowed down the thickness in her throat. "Guess I'm… guess I'm playing bait. That… sounds fun."

It really didn't.

"We don't have much time. She's getting close." Blake said, tensing, ready for action.

"Okay… I uh… let me go first and I'll…" Ruby trailed off as she looked at what she had around her to work with. Not far from the container she and Blake were huddled behind, she spied a pallet with frayed shrink wrap, making it relatively easy to spy its small, dull-reddish contents. Maybe she didn't _remember_ it, but throwing a brick had apparently worked against Weiss.

Kind of.

...She still got captured.

Still, Weiss's head-height was Yang's chest-height. If she could replicate the throw… well, it would probably hurt Yang. Like, quite a bit. But Blake was right: they weren't going to get Yang to stop her apparently murderous rampage by playing patty-cake.

"Ruby?" Blake asked quietly.

"I think I have a plan." Ruby said, matching Blake's volume. "Go as soon as I start shouting."

Blake nodded in response.

Ruby took a deep breath, stretched out, popped her neck, then took off in a sprint. Without the superpowers of Soul Form, regular sprinting was unbearably slow, but Ruby knew she was still much faster than most. She had been even before the gods brought her back in a somewhat idealized body. It only took an agonizing four seconds to reach the pallet, another five to wiggle a brick out of its place in the stack, then another three seconds before she was back out in the open, face to face with her sister.

Yang's tears betrayed the blank expression on her face. Her bright-red gaze fell immediately to Ruby, but her eyes still seemed a bit… unfocused.

Yang clearly wasn't operating at full capacity. She could do this.

"Hey Yang!" Ruby shouted, moving laterally to avoid any potential shotgun blasts, despite the firearm not being pointed her way. "Catch!"

Ruby chucked the brick at Yang as hard as she could, sure to aim lower than her face. Simultaneously, the scampering sound of multiple sets of feet emerged from the other side of the container, drawing Yang's attention. One of the Blake clones was attempting to leap over the top of the container. Yang's eyes and aim immediately snapped to it.

Okay, it wasn't _exactly_ how they'd planned, but at the cost of one of Blake's clones, Ruby could potentially take down a distracted Yang. With a hard cut, she shifted her angle to the most direct route to Yang.

The shotgun fired, loud and violent.

The Blake atop the container gripped her neck, gargling out as she fell forward off of the container, vanishing into shadow as she fell.

Then, without looking, Yang's right hand came free of the trigger, snapping out into the _perfect_ place to catch the brick out of the air before it hit her.

Ruby couldn't help but be a little impressed.

But she was still committed to her actions, and not far behind the brick. With Yang having only one hand on the shotgun, Ruby knew it would be her best chance to knock it away.

Then Yang's eyes snapped back to her, angry red and far more focused than they had been earlier. A sharp impact hit her ankle, and Ruby was off balance. She could already imagine her dad chiding her on her sloppy balance. Yang had always been good at taking advantage of little weaknesses like that. Still, this was her chance! Grab the gun, and even if she took it to the ground with her, Yang would no longer have it. She reached out with dogged determination.

Her attempt was thwarted by a brick being smashed into her fingers.

Ruby reflexively curled her hurting hands under herself as she hit the ground. The impact knocked some of the wind out of her. She'd forgotten how comparatively _weak_ she was in base form. Yang's boot pressing down into her back finished the emptying of her lungs.

With her soulsense, she was aware that the shotgun's barrel was aimed directly at the back of her head. This was it. Her first death at the hands of the absolute last person she would have expected to kill her. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many of those. At least she could come back from it.

She braced for the shotgun blast.

It never came.

"She said… kill them if I can." Yang said, struggling against her own words. "I… I can't do it. I can't kill my sister. I promised. I h-have to take care of her. Sorry mistress. I-I've failed. But Blake is… o-only a friend. I'll… I'll do my best."

The missed shots suddenly made sense. And when Blake had knocked her away the first time? She wasn't standing in _quite_ the same position Ruby had been. She hadn't been _trying_ to take the hit for Ruby. That meant… Yang…

...Yang probably could have hit her despite Blake's attempt, had she been trying.

That was a scarily sobering thought.

"Yang, please!" Ruby struggled to push herself up from under Yang's foot, still short on breath. "Don't hurt Blake, you don't have to-"

"Shut up!" Yang growled. Her foot left Ruby's back for a split second, only to slam right back down, crushing Ruby against the concrete once more. "Stop fighting! Y-You're making this h-hard!"

Ruby wheezed, failing to suck in much air at all, and completely unable to respond.

At least with Yang focused on keeping her pinned like this, she couldn't chase after Blake. Ruby was… a semi-successful distraction. Unfortunately, that did very little to make her aching chest feel better.

"Yang? Chill." Blake's voice rang out from somewhere behind them, and suddenly they were being buffeted by strong winds and small pieces of hail. Yang was forced off of Ruby's back, and Ruby rolled out of the way of Blake's spell.

Yang, meanwhile, braced herself against the very container Ruby and Blake had previously been hiding behind, steadied her breath, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

The spell shattered. Blake's right arm hung uselessly, while her left clutched at her shoulder where she'd been hit. Another deafening blast, and this Blake collapsed into shadows as well.

Ruby caught her breath just enough to scramble to her feet. Before Yang could tackle her again, Ruby sprinted away, finding a different container within the maze of cargo to hide behind for a bit.

The fight had just started, and things couldn't be going worse! They were already down… three Blakes, two of which were part of the seven they'd formed their strategy around. They hadn't gotten much out of it, either: they'd only cost Yang 3 shotgun rounds (Ruby remembered her saying something about carrying somewhere around 30 of them) and… learned that Yang was still a ridiculous badass in a fight?

Well, she supposed they'd also learned that Yang was unwilling and unable to kill her… it was a slight comfort, but it did ruin their strategy.

One of the remaining Blakes slipped in beside Ruby.

"Gods, she's like a fucking terminator." Blake groaned out breathlessly. "How were you worried that she wouldn't be able to handle herself in a fight?"

"She didn't know what she was up against!" Ruby snapped back. "Plus, if I were in Soul Form and using my scythe, she wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Well, I think it's safe to say that neither of us want to destroy her soul, so that strategy is right out. Any other ideas?"

"She… doesn't want to kill me, so even when I'm trying to distract her, you probably need to stay hidden." Ruby sighed. "Throwing things at her doesn't seem to work, not even to make her waste ammo, and I'm kind of useless if she pins me down again. We can't afford to lose one of your clones every time that happens, either."

"I am, admittedly, not a big fan of dying." Blake deadpanned. "I could do some illusions." Blake perked up as she continued. "Make it look like the last time, except those will be the distraction for _you._"

"A distraction for me to do _what,_ exactly?"

"I don't know! You're the martial expert here!" Blake shot back.

"I'm not really an expert, and I sure can't beat Yang!"

"Even if you fight dirty?"

"She's kind of used to people doing that to her." Ruby sighed. "I dunno. I might be able to get her on the ground, but it's not like you could just freeze her in place or some-"

"That's it!" Blake interrupted. "I might not be able to freeze her, but…" she whipped a small notebook out of her pocket, and began drawing, "if you can get this underneath her and knock her down," she tore out the page, and handed it to Ruby. Each side featured a stacked link glyph and pull glyph. "I might be able to get her stuck there! Then _you_ can get rid of the gun, and I can do the counterspell!"

"That's as good a plan as any." Ruby shrugged. "Are you ready?"

"Just a sec." Blake said as she drew out a complicated illusion spell in the air. "Okay, on your signal."

"Right." Ruby adjusted her stance, and prepared to sprint out of the cover. "Now!"

Ruby took off in a sprint with an army of illusory Blakes scattering behind her. She rounded the corner, and watched Yang take the bait, the thundering boom of the shotgun rang out and one of the illusions played out a dramatic death. With an extra burst of speed, Ruby dove for Yang's legs.

But, before she could make it to the ground, a flying brick struck her in the chest, once again knocking the wind out of her and halting her forward momentum.

Holy _geez_ that hurt! What had Ruby been _thinking_ when she'd thrown it at Yang in the first place? Ruby wheezed. She never intended to hurt Yang _this_ badly!

Of course, Yang still remained uninjured, which was great and terrible at the same time. She took a step towards Ruby, and all Ruby could do was roll in the opposite direction.

And Yang let her. She turned around, and began jogging around the container Blake was behind, ignoring the illusions that were taunting her. A quick glance told Ruby what Yang had noticed: none of the illusions cast shadows. She tried to call out a warning to Blake, but her lungs lacked the air to do so. Blake let out a startled yelp before the shotgun rang out once more, and the illusions faded.

Only four Blakes left. Ruby _really_ needed to find a way to stop Yang. She glanced at the piece of paper in her hand.

Shakily, Ruby got up. Catching her breath was still hard; her ribs had taken a beating. An inward glance via soulsense told her that one of her ribs had cracked slightly during the last scuffle. It hurt. It hurt a _whole_ lot. But Ruby had been through worse. And she _would_ go through worse if it meant saving Yang. She'd have to power through.

Ruby jogged up beside the container, waited for Yang to come back around the corner, then struck.

It was really just throwing her weight around at this time: wrapping her arms around Yang and driving her back until they slammed into one of the other containers. Sure, Yang weighed more than her, but the one year Ruby had been coerced into playing football had taught her at least one thing: low shoulder wins.

"Blake! Now!" Ruby yelled, just before the butt of the shotgun came down _hard_ onto her back.

Ruby stumbled to the ground and rolled away, but Yang couldn't follow. She struggled fruitlessly to unstick herself from the container.

"Finally." Ruby sighed out, taking a more leisurely pace in approaching her sister. "Don't worry, Yang. We'll get you back to normal."

The hurt that flashed in Yang's eyes at that gave Ruby pause, but only for a moment before she pressed on. Yang swung the butt of the shotgun at her, but with her back locked in place, there was no weight behind it. Ruby easily caught the blow, placed one foot against the container, and wrenched the weapon away from Yang.

With a heavy sigh, Ruby stepped back, withering under the indignant glare Yang was giving her. It was never pleasant to have her sister's eyes red and pointed in her direction.

"I got her, Blake. You ready with that counter spell?" Ruby called out.

"Yeah!" Blake responded. "Just a sec, since I've already got a spell on her, I should be able to do it remotely!"

"Okay!" Ruby called back. "Uh… good!"

Ruby almost missed Yang's hand snap down to her hip, drawing out a familiar dagger.

But it wasn't there to try to pry Yang free, or threaten Ruby, or even just to be held in self defense against a perceived threat.

Almost as soon as it was in Yang's hand, it was leaving it again, tossed in a high arc.

A second later, and Blake let out a startled yelp. Yang immediately pushed free from the wall, tackling the shotgun away from Ruby. In one fluid motion, she rolled, fired at the glyph-holding piece of paper fluttering down from where it had been stuck to the container, then swept Ruby's feet out from under her.

Shortly after Ruby hit the ground, Yang's heel slammed into her chest, right into the injured rib. Ruby wheezed, grabbing weakly at Yang's ankle.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ruby." Yang said quietly, with genuine sadness in her eyes. "So please. Just… stay down. Don't get back up. Don't make me hurt you any more. I'm begging you! Stop fighting and just let me take care of you!"

The heel came off, and Ruby still couldn't breathe effectively. To be honest, there was some temptation to just… do as Yang said. Not only because her sister had been a constant source of great advice in her life, but also because the repeated trauma to her ribs and constant lack of air was starting to get to her.

And for the moment, she couldn't stand up if she tried.

Yang jogged off, and a short while later, her shotgun went off near where Blake had called out.

Three Blakes.

Ruby panicked. She struggled to get to her feet, but the air still wouldn't come. With a great deal of effort and far too much time, she managed to get herself into a crouching position, before being violent wracked with a coughing fit. A small amount of blood splattered onto the concrete in front of her.

A muffled clap of thunder. Yang crying out in pain. Then, the echoing report of the shotgun, and Yang was quiet again.

Two Blakes.

Things were getting desperate! Screw the rules, Ruby didn't have the time to struggle with mortal limitations! She began the shift into her Soul Form, even though it paralized her as she healed the damage.

As soon as it finished, Yang's shotgun barked out twice more in rapid succession.

She hoped Blake was keeping her clones far away enough from each other that there was still one left.

But either way? She was out of time. Her intent had been to shift right back to base form once healed, but at this point, Blake had either already met oblivion or was far too close to it for comfort. This was a desperate measure, but these were desperate times. Ruby took off in a superpowered sprint.

She closed her eyes, reaching out with her soulsense to see the world. Blake shined bright: her soul a beacon in the dark, and comfortingly familiar. She was still alive. Yang was there too, a fiery conflagration tearing its way towards Blake's final hiding place. She and Yang were on opposite sides of Blake, but Yang was _much_ closer.

Ruby tore towards Blake's position at full speed. Yang didn't want to hurt her, right? Maybe she could act as a human shield for Blake.

Ruby whipped around the corner, praying the gods would understand why she was breaking the rules, why using her superpowers against a mortal, praying that Yang would notice her soon enough not to pull the trigger. Praying that she could shift back to base form fast enough if Yang didn't.

With a powerful leap, Ruby dove through a shadow, passing over Blake's crouched, panicked form, and began the slow (relative to superspeed) process of shifting back.

The shotgun was already leveled.

The muzzle flashed.

The world was dark.


End file.
